(Bloomberg) -- Italian lawmakers still haven’t managed to agree on a new president after a fourth round of voting, a sign that it will be harder than initially thought for Prime Minister Mario Draghi to get the job.

The fourth round of inconclusive voting showed growing support for reappointing incumbent Sergio Mattarella, who got 166 votes even if he repeatedly signaled he wouldn’t available for a second term.

Of 540 ballots cast, 261 left empty during the vote on Thursday, the first in which an absolute majority of 505 votes was needed for a winner to emerge. More than 400 lawmakers from center-right parties abstained from the vote.

Party leaders continue to talk but “the presidential race remains wide and unpredictable,” Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of Teneo wrote in a note.

Potential candidates touted by party officials in recent hours are, among others, former Lower House head Ferdinando Casini, jurist Sabino Cassese, long-time diplomat Elisabetta Belloni, and former Prime Minister Giuliano Amato.

Draghi’s move from the government office of Palazzo Chigi to the Quirinale, where Italian presidents reside for their seven-year term, is still possible, but it is linked to parties finding an agreement on who will succeed him as premier.

Voting will resume Friday at 11 a.m., and leaders are working to agree on a common candidate before then.

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