Iraq parliament postpones July 8 session

Iraq's parliament Monday postponed its session scheduled Tuesday due to the failure of the political blocs to agree on the three top posts of the speaker, president and prime minster, a lawmaker said.

"There has been no consensus among the political bloc and the parliament session, therefore the session will be postponed to August," Mohammed al-Khalidi, a Sunni lawmaker, told reporters.

The state-run Iraqiya channel said that acting Speaker Mahdi al-Hafidh decided to set Aug 12 as the alternative date of the session, Xinhua reported.

On July 1, the newly-elected parliament failed to agree on electing a new speaker and two deputies, while the acting speaker had to adjourn the session to July 8 because of chaos and many lawmakers walked out on him.

After the session, a major Sunni political gathering, named Alliance of National Powers, said in a statement that the Sunni lawmakers walked out of the parliament session because there was no agreement between the political blocs on the new top posts, including the speaker, president and prime minister, in addition to the lack of a clear governmental programme that may ensure a change in the governance of the country.

According to the Iraqi constitution, a new president should be chosen within the 30 days after the election of the speaker and two deputies.

Following that, the new head of state will have two weeks to ask the bloc with the most lawmakers to nominate a prime minister, who will be responsible for forming a new government.

The prime minister-designate has 30 days to select his cabinet members and present the list to parliament.