With the date for promulgation of new constitution set for September 20, discussion to form a new government is quietly gathering pace.

As the constitution stipulates electing a new prime minister within seven days of its promulgation, the three major parties—Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and UCPN (Maoist)—are preparing to elect a new prime minister to replace incumbent Sushil Koirala, also the president of NC.

Though Koirala has been saying that he would resign after the promulgation of the constitution, highly placed sources said that he is keen to take part in the UN General Assembly meeting before stepping down from the post.

Dinesh Bhattarai, Koirala’s foreign affairs advisor, however, said it was still unclear who would lead the Nepali delegation to the UNGA.

Meanwhile, Foriegn Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey hinted at the possibility of a new prime minister leading the Nepali delegation to the UNGA. The matter will be decided after the constitution writing process is completed, he said.

If Prime Minister Koirala decides to attend the UNGA, then the parties are considering holding the prime ministerial election through new Parliament session.

The constitution mentions that speaker and deputy speaker of Parliament should be elected within 20 days of new Parliament session and election of president and vice-president within a month.

UML, the second largest party in the Constituent Assembly and the coalition partner of the incumbent government, has started its efforts to lead the next government.

Before Koirala was elected the prime minister in February 2014, the NC had pledged its support to UML for the government to be formed after the constitution promulgation.

UML Secretary Pradeep Gyawali left for New Delhi as special envoy of the party Chairman KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday to inform the Indian government about the ongoing constitution drafting process and the current political affairs.

Replacement

President    within 1 month

Vice President    within 1 month

Prime Minister    within 7 days

Speaker    within 20 days

Deputy Speaker    within 20 days