Runoff vote for Iraqi speaker fails

BAGHDAD, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Iraqi lawmakers once again failed to choose a candidate for the position of Parliament speaker Thursday after a round of secret balloting, officials said.

"The lawmakers held their second round of secret ballot to vote in a new speaker, but they failed to choose any of the two candidates for the speaker post," an anonymous lawmaker told the Xinhua news agency.

Lawmakers voted in a runoff Thursday between Sunni lawmakers Iyad al-Samarrai and deputy speaker Khalil Jadua, both with the Iraqi Accordance Front coalition. Iraq has been without a speaker since Mahmoud Mashhadani stepped down from the position in December.

Samarrai fell just two votes shy of the 138 votes needed to secure a majority in the 275-member Parliament. Only 234 members were present for the Thursday session, however.

An unwritten power-sharing agreement states the position of speaker should be a Sunni. The delay in choosing a successor to Mashhadani highlights the evolving political situation in Iraq.

Some lawmakers claim the delay is a tactic to topple the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki through the disbanding of Parliament. Iraq has been unable to pass a series of measures, including a national budget, while the vetting process for speaker continues.