The Iraqi parliament on Saturday failed once again in electing a speaker to the legislative body after a brawl broke out between multiple MPs ahead of the third round of voting.

The session on Saturday was dedicated to electing a new speaker to the parliament after the position had been vacant since November.

The candidates for the position were MP Salem al-Issawi and the Sunni Taqaddum-backed Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.

The session witnessed a large attendance, when 311 of the parliament’s 329 members were in attendance and casted their votes.

However, after two rounds of voting, no candidate was able to achieve the 167 votes required to be elected as speaker to the parliament, the voting had to enter a third round.

The inability of the candidates to achieve the amount of required votes came as a surprise, especially given Taqaddum’s clear support for Mashhadani.

Taqaddum had previously held the speaker position without any contest.

However, as the third round of voting was about to commence, a brawl broke out between several MPs.

#BREAKING: Video footages show quarrels between MPs inside the #parliament hall ahead of the vote to elect a new parliamentary speaker#TheNewRegion pic.twitter.com/B916GnWrqT

— The New Region (@thenewregion) May 18, 2024

Taqaddum MP Haibat al-Halbousi was among the first to suffer a blow to his head.

#BREAKING: Snapshot shows Taqaddum's MP Haibat al-Halbousi bloodied after a quarrel in the #Iraqi #Parliament hall#TheNewRegion pic.twitter.com/5QYpXKOzag

— The New Region (@thenewregion) May 18, 2024

The parliamentary session was soon lifted without electing a new speaker, with acting Speaker Muhsin al-Mandalawi claiming that no speaker will be elected unless a consensus is reached between all political blocs.

The Iraqi parliament has not had a speaker since November when the Federal Supreme Court revoked former Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi’s parliamentary membership, charging him with forging another MP’s resignation.

Despite several attempts since November, the parliament time and again failed to elect a new speaker, with Halbousi’s Taqaddum and the Shiite Coordination Framework not agreeing on a candidate.

Despite Taqaddum holding the majority of Sunni seats in the parliament, therefore having a rightful claim to the speaker position as per the power sharing system established in Iraq following 2003, the party has faced obstacles from the Coordination Framework who has taken control over the position through Mandalawi since November.