The Kurdish and Sunni blocs have been opposed to Allawi’s approach to government formation, saying that they wanted final approval over any ministers from their communities. Allawi had sought a free hand to propose ministers without input from the parties, NRT reported.

The session was supposed to have begun at 1 p.m., but was abandoned in the middle of the afternoon when it became clear that there was no quorum to hold votes.

Parliamentary sources have indicated that the rescheduled session is likely to take place on Sunday.

Constitutionally, Allawi now has until the beginning of next week to have his cabinet approved or someone else must be designated to form a government.

When the prime minister-designate arrived at the parliament building, he was greeted by First Deputy Speaker Hassan al-Kaabi, rather than Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi.

Reporter’s code: 50101