Iraq parliament delays 2nd session

Iraq’s political deadlock deepens as the parliament has indefinitely postponed its second session since the indecisive March 7 national vote.

Fouad Massum, who holds the post of caretaker parliament speaker, announced the cancellation of the session that was scheduled for Tuesday, AFP reported.

“We are postponing the session until further notice because the political entities failed to reach any agreement,” Massum added.

He said the decision came after a meeting earlier in the day where the rival parliamentary blocs agreed to extend the deadline for “political entities to reach agreement regarding the selection of a speaker and his two deputies.”

Iraq’s first parliamentary session since the March election was held June 14. The meeting was, however, adjourned after only 20 minutes.

The ongoing impasse palled Iraq’s politics when the country’s key parliamentary vote ended with former Premier Iyad Allawi’s al-Iraqiya bloc in the first place with 91 seats.

Al-Iraqiya was closely followed by incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law alliance which finished only two seats behind its major rival.

The Iraqi National Alliance won 70 seats and ended up in the third place.

The country’s four main political groups have been unable to reach a coalition deal while concerns have been on the rise that the resulting political and security vacuum could lead to stepped up militancy.

American combat troops are due to leave Iraq in a month while the country remains the scene of relentless deadly bombings and al-Qaeda-linked terror attacks erupting after the US-led invasion of 2003.