Former Maoist rebels in Nepal look set to back a 73-year-old leader from the south of the country in presidential elections due on Saturday.
Nepal's constituent assembly has failed to elect the country's first president to lead the new republic formed after the abolition of the monarchy in May.
Disagreements up to now have prompted the Maoists, the biggest party, to join hands with parties elected from southern Nepal to find a compromise.
The frontrunner, Ram Baran Yadav, backed by the Nepali Congress and the Communist Party, fell just short of a majority in the first ballot.
If everything goes according to their plan, 73-year-old Ramraja Prasad Singh could be the first president of Nepal.
The candidate backed by the Maoists, Ramraja Prasad Singh, came second.
The Maoists say Mr Singh will present a "new political face".
The assembly will now fix a new date for a run off.
By all standards, it was an unprecedented decision by the Maoists to reach agreement with a group of at least three other parties from the south, which up until now have been political enemies.
It did succeed in electing a vice-president, Paramanand Jha, who was proposed by the Madhesi People's Rights Forum.
'Right man'
Nepal's former Maoist rebels hold the most seats in the recently elected assembly but do not have a majority.
Maoist leaders said they had no choice but to agree on Mr Singh - who leads a small republican party - because he is a "neutral face".
The selection of the country's first post-monarchy head of state could have allowed them to form a government, as a president is needed to swear in the new prime minister.
"We didn't want the present Prime Minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, to be the new president," said Maoist Chairman Prachanda.
Largely ceremonial
"We wanted a new face and Mr Singh is the right candidate."
However, in a secret ballot held in the new assembly, no candidate won the 298 votes necessary, Nepal Television reported.
Prachanda is the Maoist prime ministerial candidate, and the country's interim constitution vests executive powers in him.
Ram Baran Yadav was just four votes short of a majority, it said.
The three southern parties who are backing Mr Singh for the largely ceremonial role are led by the Madhesi People's Forum, the fourth largest party after the April elections.
Ramraja Prasad Singh, who is backed by the Maoists although he is not a member of their party, won 282 votes, the channel reported.
With the backing of the Madhesi parties, the Maoists hope that they can win a clear majority - more than 50% of the votes in the 594-member house - in Mr Singh's favour.
The post of president will be largely ceremonial but it is a key step in forming the new government.
In return, the Madhesis have demanded that their candidate for vice-president, Paramananda Jha, be elected.
With no single party commanding a parliamentary majority, the president's position could become even more significant.
Meanwhile, the Nepali Congress and United Marxist-Leninist parties have entered their presidential and vice-presidential candidates into the fray.
The newly-elected constituent assembly functions as a parliament but is also charged with writing Nepal's new constitution. It declared Nepal as a republic in late May - bringing an end to the monarchy.
The elections in April saw the Maoists emerge as the biggest political force. Their 10-year insurrection claimed the lives of over 13,000 people.
