BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s parliament on Sunday formally accepted the prime minister’s resignation, but the path to replacing Adil Abdul-Mahdi was clouded with legal questions that one lawmaker described as a “black hole in the constitution,” which does not clearly spell out the next step.

Meanwhile, anti-government demonstrations went on in the capital, and one protester was shot dead. Demonstrators closed roads, including those leading to a major commodities port in southern Iraq. A special judicial committee was formed to investigate demonstrator deaths.

Parliament approved the resignation without a vote, according to four lawmakers in attendance. Lawmakers acted on the legal opinion of the federal supreme court because existing laws do not provide clear procedures.

“According to the federal court’s interpretation, there is no need to vote,” lawmaker Sarkwat Shamsedine said during the session. Lawmaker Mohamed al-Daraji made the reference to a black hole in the law.

Following the approval, Parliament Speaker Mohamed a-Halbousi asked President Barham Salih to nominate a new prime minister. The constitution requires parliament’s largest bloc to name a candidate for the premiership within 15 days. Then the prime minister-designate has 30 days to form a government.

Officials and experts warned of a potential political crisis because the question of which coalition constitutes the largest bloc is unresolved.

Abdul-Mahdi’s nomination as prime minister was the product of a provisional alliance between parliament’s two main blocs — Sairoon, led by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, and Fatah, which includes leaders associated with the paramilitary Popular Mobilization Units headed by Hadi al-Amiri.

In the May 2018 election, neither coalition won a commanding plurality that would have enabled it to name the premier alone. To avoid political crisis, Sairoon and Fatah forged a precarious union.

Salih began making rounds with different political blocs to reach a consensus, one lawmaker who requested anonymity in line with regulations said. Two Iraqi officials also said that Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force and the architect of its regional security apparatus, arrived in Baghdad and met with key officials.

“It is expected that not just Soleimani but other usual brokers of the prime minister candidate will be active from now on,” said one official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of regulations. “But for sure no candidate will go through without the blessing of Najaf.”

Najaf is the seat of Iraq’s Shiite religious authority.