The Queensland Labor rightwinger Jim Chalmers is continuing to mull whether to run for the party leadership after a coordinated show of force from the frontrunner, Anthony Albanese, prompted an early withdrawal from the ballot by Chris Bowen.

Bowen withdrew from contention and encouraged Chalmers to throw his hat in the ring only 24 hours after entering the field following a string of endorsements for Albanese from both the right and left factions over the course of Wednesday.

Chalmers is expected to make a final decision on Thursday as the Morrison government continues its own post-election recalibration that will culminate with the unveiling of a new ministry on Sunday.

The Nationals will gather in Canberra on Thursday to elect a leader and deputy with Michael McCormack and Bridget McKenzie both expected to be returned to their positions. MPs expect McCormack will outline the terms of the new Coalition agreement he will strike with Morrison, and conduct an election postmortem.

The Nationals are in line for four cabinet positions, with a vacancy created by the departure of the Northern Territory’s Nigel Scullion. Barnaby Joyce is among those angling for a return to the ministry after he was demoted following an affair with a staffer, but will face competition from the Victorian Darren Chester and the Queenslander Keith Pitt.

While the Nationals are pushing to be given back the trade portfolio, which the Liberals took over in 2013 when Tony Abbott became prime minister, it is expected that the role will stay with the Liberals’ Simon Birmingham.

Throughout the campaign, Morrison has said he would keep many senior ministers in the same positions, including Mathias Cormann in finance, Josh Frydenberg in treasury, Peter Dutton in home affairs, Linda Reynolds in defence, Marise Payne in foreign affairs, Christian Porter as attorney general and Melissa Price in environment.

Price has come under fire since assuming the portfolio last year, after she reportedly made offensive comments to the former Kiribati president Anote Tong about Pacific countries “wanting cash”, and announced a series of community environmental grants before applications had formally opened.

The former resources lawyer has been accused of dodging scrutiny after she signed off on groundwater plans for the Adani coal project and a West Australian uranium mine on the eve of the election. But supporters say Price was gagged during the campaign in a tactical move directed by Morrison and Coalition headquarters.

While Morrison has emphasised stability on his new frontbench, he will still need to make changes following the departure of several key ministers.

Queenslanders in line for possible promotion include John McVeigh, Andrew Wallace and Trevor Evans, while the Victorians Tim Wilson and Jane Hume could also score positions in the outer ministry.

Possible cabinet elevations include Sussan Ley – who faced a tough fight in Farrer during the campaign – or Alan Tudge, however the latter would depend on a possible demotion of fellow Victorian Mitch Fifield, which colleagues speculate is likely, with his replacement in communications tipped to be Paul Fletcher.

The South Australian senator David Fawcett, who was a key vote for Morrison in the leadership ballot after switching from Peter Dutton, is likely to take on the cabinet role of defence industry minister.

Morrison is also expected to reduce the size of the cabinet in the looming revamp, which Malcolm Turnbull had increased from 21 to 22 ministers in 2016, and again from 22 to 23 ministers in 2017.

Labor has been embroiled in leadership ructions since Bill Shorten’s departure after the weekend election loss. Bowen entered the Labor leadership contest styling himself as an outer suburban figure who could face off against Morrison, but lacked support from his faction.

Labor’s shadow treasurer has also lost ground in the caucus as the architect of controversial revenue raising measures, like ending cash refunds associated with franking credits – a significant savings measure that allowed big-spending commitments to be funded while balancing the books.

After Bowen withdrew from the contest, Chalmers took to social media to confirm he would consider his options overnight and declare his hand on Thursday.

“I feel for Chris and I know it would’ve been hard for him to pull out. I’m being encouraged to nominate for leader & I’ll now consider my options overnight,” the shadow finance minister said on Twitter. Australian Labor needs to rebuild, refresh & renew & I want to play a prominent role in that. What role is to be determined.”

If Chalmers nominates for the role, the contest will be decided by the Labor caucus and a ballot of the party’s rank and file membership, with each vote given a 50% weighting to determine the final result. In 2013, Albanese won the majority of the rank and file vote, but was overruled by the vote of MPs.

In the new caucus, there are 43 MPs in the left faction, 48 in the right and 2 unaligned.

Labor’s national executive on Wednesday night set down the procedures of the ballot. Nominations will open on Thursday and close on Monday. In the event Chalmers runs and there is a contest, there will be a postal ballot of ALP members concluding on 27 June. After the conclusion of the ballot, caucus members will cast their votes on 1 July.

Labor MPs have been lining up behind Albanese’s bid for the leadership, including senior members of the NSW right, Tony Burke, Kristina Keneally and Joel Fitzgibbon, along with leftwingers.

Fitzgibbon, who had earlier suggested he may run for the leader’s position, said he would withdraw from the contest after he had outlined his demand for a greater focus on regional Australia in a “long discussion” with Albanese.

“I am satisfied that a Labor party led by Anthony Albanese will provide that focus and he’ll listen closely to the needs and aspirations of our country people,” Fitzgibbon said.

Earlier, the Labor Senate leader, Penny Wong, issued a pointed warning to Bill Shorten not to damage the party’s hard-won unity, amid reports that he was trying to block Albanese from taking the role.

After the party’s national executive meeting, the ALP national secretary, Noah Carroll, who is under fire in Labor’s internal recriminations post election, issued a statement thanking Shorten for his contribution.

“Bill led a united Labor team which dominated the policy debate, denied unfair budget measures and defeated two Liberal prime ministers,” Carroll said. “Our party and our values remain strong because of his dedication and hard work.”