The election of a new Iraqi president in the Iraqi Legislative Assembly failed once again on Saturday due to lack of quorum, leaving the country politically paralyzed.
According to the AFP news agency, the Iraqi parliament had formally released the final list of candidates for the post through a convention.
Among the candidates for the post is Rabir Ahmed of the Kurdistan Democratic Party against Braham Saleh, the current president and member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
For the second time since February, a parliamentary vote has been held, but the Iraqi House of Representatives has lost a quorum of 329 members, adding to the political uncertainty in war-torn Iraq.
A member of parliament, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that only 202 members of parliament had turned out for the latest vote.
The postponement has exacerbated Iraq's political problems, as it is the president's responsibility to formally name a prime minister who has the support of a majority in parliament.
Earlier, on February 13, the Iraqi Supreme Court rejected the presidential candidate after a complaint was lodged against veteran Kurdistan Democratic Party-backed politician Hoshyar Zubair on years-old inadmissible allegations of corruption.
Last October's general election saw a record low turnout, threats, violence and a month's delay until the final results were confirmed.
Negotiations between political groups have failed to form a majority parliamentary coalition to agree on a new prime minister to replace Mustafa al-Kazmi.
Earlier, Iraq's largest political bloc was led by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. This political bloc had supported Hoshyar Zubair for the presidency and has now shifted its weight to Rebar Ahmed.
The first vote in parliament on February 7 was also unsuccessful as Hoshyar Zubair was widely boycotted amid legal disputes.
It should be noted that with the support of Sunni and Kurdish parties, the Iraqi president wants the post of prime minister to go to his cousin Jafar al-Sadr, who is Iraq's ambassador to Britain.
Saturday's political analyst Ehsan al-Shammari had said that even if the vote went ahead as planned, the presidency would not be decided in the first round.
The candidate with the most votes must win a two-thirds majority in the second round of voting in Parliament to win the presidency.
