President Borut Pahor, the only one who can nominate a PM-designate in the first, 30-day round, informed the National Assembly on Monday that the first round was now formally concluded since nobody had come forward with a majority.

According to law, the National Assembly must now formally take note of the notification, presumably on Friday, before the second round of nomination can start.

In the second round, which lasts 14 days, candidates for PM-designate may be put forward by the president, individual deputy groups, or groups of at least ten MPs.

The development comes after Janez Janša, the leader of the Democratic Party (SDS), declined the offer to accept a mandate to form a government at this stage because he has not yet secured a sufficient majority.

The SDS would need at least two more partners aside from their natural ally, New Slovenia (NSi), to form a majority, but with the exception of the NSi and the far-right National Party (SNS) other parties have so far ruled out joining a Janša-led government.

The other potential candidate, Marjan Šarec, whose namesake party came in second, saw his six-party coalition talks collapse after the NSi decided to quit.

However, Šarec and the other four centre-left parties involved in his talks have already announced that they will resume talks this week, and that they will likely involve the Left.

Analysts believe it is unlikely the second round will be successful, with the nomination procedure likely to drag into a third round, in late August, when an ordinary majority is required to confirm a PM-designate.