/asia
KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- Lawmakers in Nepal will vote Saturday to pick the country's first president since it became a republic.
Nepal became a republic after the deposal of King Gyanendra Shah earlier this year.
The country's newly elected Constituent Assembly abolished a 239-year monarchy following elections in April.
But with no one party winning a majority of the seats, it is unclear who may become president.
The position is largely ceremonial. But a president will swear in whoever is picked as the new prime minister.
The three main political parties continued to negotiate over whom to name president.
The Nepali Congress wants outgoing prime minister and party president Girija Prasad Koirala for the position. The Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) wants its leader.
But the Maoists -- which won the largest number of seats but fell short of a majority -- do not favor either of the two men. They want a non-political figure as president.
Journalist Manesh Shrestha contributed to this report
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