Nepali Prime Minister Sushil Koirala yesterday said he would ask the president to begin the process of choosing his successor and forming the next government, following the country's adoption of a new constitution last month.

"According to my public commitment and the present provisions of the constitution... I will ask the respected president to take forward the constitutional process to choose the new prime minister," Koirala told parliament.

Koirala had pledged to step down after the constitution -- Nepal's first to be drawn up by elected representatives -- was adopted on September 20.

It marked the final stage in a peace process that began when Maoist rebels laid down their arms in 2006 after a decade-long insurgency.

The charter was meant to end years of inequality and cement peace but bitter disputes over its provisions have sparked deadly protests and a blockade of a key trade route by demonstrators that has forced nationwide fuel rationing.

More than 40 people have been killed in clashes between police and protesters representing ethnic minorities who say a new federal structure laid out in the constitution will leave them under-represented in the national parliament.

"I call on (protesting parties) to sit for dialogue and talks and solve the disagreements," Koirala said.

He said the cabinet had agreed to suggest amendments to a key constitutional provision criticised by protesters, in a bid to bring them on board.