Kathmandu, March 6 (IANS): The process of drafting a new constitution in Nepal is getting further delayed due to a dispute among the major political parties about the rules of procedure of the Constituent Assembly.

Nearly four months have passed since the country held elections for its second Constituent Assembly, but the various parties have still not finalised the rules of procedure of the constitution drafting process which only will pave the way for drafting a new constitution, reports Xinhua.

Major coalition partners Nepali Congress (NC) and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) are at odds over who -- the country's president or the Constituent Assembly chairman -- should certify, authenticate and promulgate the new constitution.

The NC has said that President Ram Baran Yadav, as the head of state, should get the authority to do so.

"As head of the state, the president should get such authority as per international practices," said NC vice-president Ram Chandra Poudel at a public programme earlier this week. Yadav belongs to the Nepali Congress.

The CPN-UML, under the leadership of Jhalanath Khanal, however, maintains that Constituent Assembly chairman Subash Nemwang should get such authority. There is a vague constitutional provision on the issue. Nemwang belongs to the CPN-UML.

Due to the dispute between the two parties, the process of drafting the rules of procedure has been halted for a week.

A cross-party committee was formed Feb 10 to prepare the rules of procedure for drafting a new constitution. Due to the dispute, however, the tenure of the committee has been extended several times.

Political parties in the Himalayan nation are under pressure to prepare the rules of procedure as soon as possible and begin the process of drafting the constitution which they have promised to complete within a year.