Iraqi lawmakers fail to elect new president amid boycott

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi lawmakers have failed to elect a new head of state after key factions foiled the attempt by boycotting the parliament session.  A two-thirds quorum of the legislature’s 329 members is required for an electoral session. Monday’s vote could not be held as lawmakers, many of them allied with powerful Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, stayed away. Only 58 lawmakers showed up. The failure to elect a president reflects the deep divisions among Iraq’s political factions that have only grown since the Oct. 10 parliament elections, whose results have been rejected by political groups supported by neighboring Iran.