Once Bratušek's resignation is formally acknowledged, a 30-day window for the election of a new prime minister-designate opens.

Nominations can be put forward by the president, deputy groups and groups of at least 10 MPs.

If a new prime minister is not appointed in this time, the president dissolves parliament and calls an early election to be held within 40 days at the earliest and two months at the latest.

All parties want an early election and the coalition parties have indicated the desire that the 30-day window be shortened so that elections could be held as soon as possible.

However, opinions differ on whether that is admissible and constitutional law experts appear split on the matter.

Some have said it would suffice if 81 MPs sign a statement saying they do not plan to put forward a candidate.

However, others have warned that this may not survive a possible Constitutional Court challenge.

If the general consensus is that the 30-day period must be observed, elections would be held between late July and early August.

However, the Constitutional Court recently ruled that a referendum on archives could not be held on 4 May, as the period of early voting would fall on a public holiday and school holidays.

Some jurists interpret that to mean that elections cannot be held during the school holidays, yet others note that a general election is far more important than a referendum and cannot be deferred for too long.

Parliament Speaker Janko Veber said President Borut Pahor would consult jurists on Wednesday to determine the course of action.

Pahor's office said the debate would focus on how the summer holiday may affect the selection of an election date and whether it was admissible to shorten the 30-day window for the nomination of a prime minister-designate.

On Thursday, Pahor is expected to meet the heads of deputy groups to determine "their views of the appropriateness of the early election date," his office said.

Veber is sceptical about the prospects for voting before summer. "The fact is that the president must consult deputy groups before it is clear whether there will be a nomination of a prime minister-designate," he said.

As for the likelihood of an election during the summer holiday, Veber said it was necessary to consult constitutional law experts, including the representatives of the Constitutional Court.

"I'm afraid nobody will dare provide a specific proposal on how to act," he said.

Meanwhile, the outgoing government of Alenka Bratušek will only be able to conduct day-to-day business after parliament gets acquainted with Bratušek's resignation. This means that the government will not be able to take on new legislative projects or adopt new policies.

The government must however take care of regular business so that the country operates normally, the government legal services stressed.

Several decisions of outgoing governments, such as appointing new officials, had been criticised and sent to courts in the past. Courts often decided that such practices were above the outgoing government's authority and repealed them.

One such case was a decision by the Administrative Court, which said that granting concessions in higher education just before the government was dismissed last year was unlawful.

According to a ruling by the Supreme Court, the day-to-day business means that the government can only make essential decisions, while not taking on new projects or making non-essential political decisions.

However, since day-to-day business is not specified in the Constitution, each case has to be treated individually and courts have to explain why a decision is considered as a day-to-day business or not.