Constituent assembly to pick president

KATHMANDU, Nepal, July 17 (UPI) -- Nepal's 601-member constituent assembly has two more days to elect the republic's first president but as of Thursday no common candidate had been found.

Two of the major political parties in the Himalayan state, which abolished its 240-year-old monarchy after declaring itself a republic this year, were expecting to agree on a candidate by Thursday, Nepalnews.com reported.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal or "Prachanda," who helped his Maoist party secure the most seats in the election and is expected to become the prime minister, said he expected his party and the Unified Marxist Leninist to reach an understanding, the report said.

Separately, the Nepali Congress party wants its outgoing prime minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, to be named the president.

The president, whose post will be largely ceremonial, is to be elected by a simple majority in the assembly. If no candidate gets a majority, the top two winners will face a second round of voting.