BAGHDAD, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi federal court on Tuesday invalidated a parliament decision to postpone a designated session for electing a new speaker to succeed the sacked Mohammed al-Halbousi, the court said in a statement.

The decision by the Federal Supreme Court paved the way for accelerating the process of electing a new parliament speaker, which had been stalled for months due to political wrangling between the parliamentary political blocs.

On Jan. 14, the parliament held a session to elect a new speaker. After a direct secret ballot, Shaalan al-Karim garnered 152 votes, followed by Salim al-Eisawi with 97 votes and former speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani with 48 votes. However, quarrels and debates occurred inside the parliament hall, prompting the Acting Speaker Mohsen al-Mandalawi to adjourn the session until further notice.

The selection of parliament speaker is subject to debate among the parliamentary political blocs, especially within the Sunni factions. The Taqaddum Party, headed by al-Halbousi, insists that the new speaker must exclusively be chosen from its candidates, a stance resisted by other Sunni blocs which prefer to recommend their own candidates for the position.

On Monday, the Coordination Framework, an umbrella group of Shiite parliamentary parties, gave the Sunni blocs one week to finalize their nomination of a parliament speaker and confirm its intention to hold a session for the election of a new parliament speaker after the deadline expires.

Under Iraq's power-sharing system after 2003, the presidency is reserved for the Kurds, the parliament speaker's post for the Sunnis, and the prime minister's post for the Shiites. Enditem

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