Iraq parliament fails to elect new president - lawmakers

Iraqi parliament in Baghdad, Iraq Feb 7 (Reuters)

BAGHDAD, FEB 7 REUTERS Iraq’s parliament cancelled the vote for a new head of state on Monday as it lacked the quorum to hold a session, 3 lawmakers said, a move that prolongs a political standoff.

Only 58 members out of 329 were present on Monday, which is less than the necessary two-thirds quorum needed to chose a new president for the mostly ceremonial post.

On Sunday many lawmakers said they would boycott the proceedings after the Supreme Court suspended a former foreign minister’s presidential bid over graft allegations.

The court said on Sunday that the candidacy of Hoshyar Zebari, a Western-friendly veteran Iraqi Kurdish statesman, could not proceed until corruption charges from a separate 2016 stint as finance minister were dealt with.

Zebari who served as foreign minister for more than a decade, was finance minister when he was sacked by parliament in 2016 over alleged corruption.