Iraqi Parliament Fails to Elect New President

Quorum fails to show up for vote

Plans to elect a president of Iraq in the parliament went awry Monday, when boycotts of the session meant that no quorum ever showed up. A quorum of 2/3 would be 220 MPs in Iraq, and only 58 showed up.

Hoshyar Zebari was considered the front-runner for the vote, and is backed by the KDP and cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Both parties boycotted today’s session.

The boycott is over several other unresolved matters. No date has been scheduled for the next vote attempt.

KDP is the largest Kurdish bloc, and is expected to get the presidency. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is fighting for the spot too, and they hold the post currently with President Salih.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.