The Iraqi Parliament failed once again today to elect a new speaker, sounding a somewhat sour note as the government attempts to tout the relative success of its provincial elections on the international scene.

The parliament has been practically without a speaker since December 17 of last year, when an argument over shoe-throwing journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi led to then-speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani angrily resigning. He attempted to unresign later in the week, but was ultimately forced to re-resign on December 23.

Mashhadani’s replacement was supposed to come from the Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF): the Sunni bloc which his party was a member of. Disputes over who gets the position have increased since Mashhadani’s party, the Iraqi National Dialogue Council (INDC), left the IAF. Both sides claim that they should get the position, but so far neither has had the votes to make it happen. Parliament will try again on Monday.

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