Rival groups in Iraqi parliament fail to elect speaker at 1st session since May vote

Iraq’s parliament held its first session since May’s national election on Monday but failed to elect a speaker. The move should have been the first step towards forming a new government. Lawmakers were supposed to elect the speaker and two deputies, at the start of a 90-day process outlined in the constitution. With competing political blocs each claiming to hold a parliamentary majority, no vote was held on the appointments, Reuters reports. On Sunday, lawmakers led by populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced they had managed to form an alliance that would give them a majority bloc in parliament. Hours later, a rival grouping led by militia commander Hadi al-Amiri and former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki responded by saying it had formed its own alliance that would be the largest bloc. Amiri and Maliki are Iran’s two most prominent allies in Iraq. Abadi is seen as the preferred candidate of the US. Sadr portrays himself as a nationalist who rejects both American and Iranian influence.