Due to a lack of quorum and disagreements among political blocs, Iraq's Parliament was unable to hold a session to vote on a new President. The session was indefinitely postponed due to a lack of the requisite two-thirds quorum of the 329-seat Parliament, according to a source in Parliament's media, and converted into a gathering to address numerous topics.
"We didn't attend Monday’s session because our candidate Hoshyar Zebari was suspended pursuant to a Federal Supreme Court order, and no one can gain a quorum unless we are present," said Mishaan al-Jubouri, a lawmaker from the Sunni al-Siyada Alliance.
Zebari was the presidential candidate of the Sadrist Movement, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the al-Siyada Alliance.
The candidacy of Zebari as a presidential candidate was suspended by a federal court on Sunday pending the outcome of a corruption case against him.
Later, the KDP, led by Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, and the al-Siyada Alliance, led by Sunni billionaire Khamis al-Khanjar, agreed to boycott Monday's parliament session in order to facilitate further talks between the two political blocs.
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