Lawmakers in Italy's 630-seat Chamber of deputies on Friday failed to elect a speaker after no candidate received the 420 votes needed in the first ballot, which took place amid a political stalemate in the hung parliament.
A total of 592 lawmakers filed blank ballots and 18 spoiled their ballots. After the vote, Democratic Party lawmaker Roberto Giachetti, who was deputy speaker in the previous legislature, suspended Friday's session - the new parliament's first sitting since the 4 March national election.
A second round of voting was due to take place in the Chamber of at 2 pm.
A deal between the centre right, including the far-right League, and the grassroots Five-Star Movement to give the Speakership of the Senate to the former and the House to the latter party broke down Thursday.
Five-Star rejected the League's centre-right alliance partner Forza Italia's candidate for Senate speaker, the former Senate Whip Paolo Romani, who has a binding conviction for embezzlement.
