The vote scheduled for Wednesday in the Irish parliament to elect a new prime minister was postponed following opposition protests regarding speaking rights for independent lawmakers supporting the incoming coalition government, leading to a disorderly session.
Micheál Martin was set to become prime minister around 1230 GMT as part of an agreement reached last week between the country's two major center-right parties and a group of independent lawmakers.
The lower house speaker suspended the session several times before adjourning until 0900 GMT on Thursday, amidst intense objections from opposition lawmakers during the attempt to commence the prime ministerial vote.
Addressing a hastily arranged press conference, Martin stated, What we witnessed today was the subversion of the Irish constitution... This has never happened in the history of the state before. He highlighted the importance of the parliament's duty to elect a prime minister and form a government, which he claimed was obstructed by a deliberate opposition move, particularly by the Sinn Fein Party.
Outgoing Prime Minister Simon Harris, who was expected to become deputy prime minister, criticized the situation as utterly farcical" and characterized it as "stunt politics on speed.
The reelected Fine Gael and Fianna Fail-led government anticipated the return of U.S. President Trump to the White House and aimed to have a new cabinet in place by his inauguration.
The postponement will defer Martin's appointment of a new ministerial team.
The opposition objected to the attempt by some government-supporting independent lawmakers to maintain their extended speaking rights from the opposition benches, leading to failed attempts at resolving the dispute between sessions.
David Cullinane, a senior lawmaker from the main opposition Sinn Fein Party, attributed the day's chaos to Fine Gael/Fianna Fail and the group of independents, accusing them of engaging in "stroke politics."