SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi parliament’s session to select a new president was delayed to Wednesday due to a lack of quorum, Esta Media Network reporter said on Saturday.
Parliament was scheduled to hold a session on Saturday to select a new Iraqi president, with 40 candidates competing to win the race.
Esta Media Network reporter said only 195 out of 329 lawmakers attended the session. As many as 220 members of the Council of Representatives are required for the parliament to reach a legal quorum.
Lawmakers from the Sadrist Movement led by Shia cleric Sadr, part of Sunni parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the New Generation attended the session.
Lawmakers from Coordination Framework, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Azm alliance, the Kurdistan Islamic Union, and the Kurdistan Justice Group as well as independent MPs boycotted the parliamentary session.
Earlier on Saturday, Sadr arrived in Baghdad to follow up the latest developments, according to the reporter.
Lack of a quorum – two-thirds of the house’s 329 members – and legal issues have held up the vote, deepening was scarred Iraq’s political uncertainty.
*This story was updated at 3:46 p.m. EBL time
