BAGHDAD: Iraqi lawmakers failed again on Saturday to elect a new president due to the lack of a quorum in parliament, keeping the country mired in political paralysis.

Parliament had issued a final list of 40 candidates for the post, a largely ceremonial role that by convention is reserved for a member of Iraq’s Kurdish minority.

The contest pits Barham Saleh, the incumbent and a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), against Rebar Ahmed of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the PUK’s rival.

But the lack of a quorum — set at two-thirds of the house’s 329 members — held up the vote for the second time since February, deepening war-scarred Iraq’s political uncertainty.

Only 202 lawmakers showed up for the latest vote, a parliamentary official said and a new session had to be scheduled for Wednesday.

Following the session, parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi said the “lack of a quorum forces us to continue holding sessions until it is achieved”, the state-owned Iraqi News Agency reported.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2022