Irish Parliament Delays Prime Minister Vote Over Speaking Rights
DUBLIN (Reuters) - A vote due on Wednesday in the Irish parliament to elect a new prime minister was delayed by a day after opposition protests over speaking rights for independent lawmakers supporting the incoming coalition government.
Micheál Martin was due to be elected prime minister at around 1230 GMT following a coalition deal struck last week between the country's two large centre-right parties and a group of independent lawmakers after a Nov. 29 election.
The speaker of the lower house of parliament suspended the chamber for a fourth time at 1630 and told lawmakers to return on Thursday, following the protests at some of the government-supporting independents seeking to retain their speaking rights in parliament from the opposition benches.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar)
