Lebanese presidential vote delayed
Lebanon's rival political parties are divided over relations with Syria
Tuesday, 25, Sep 2007 10:54
A lack of quorum has thwarted the Lebanese parliament's attempt to choose a new president.
Finding a successor to incumbent president Emile Lahoud is a major headache for the divided Middle Eastern country and the latest development strengthens concerns the state is heading for an intensification of its ongoing political crisis.
The absence of opposition MPs led to the adjournment of the session. The parliament's speaker, Nabih Berri, brought the sitting of the house to a halt as two-thirds of MPs were not present – the majority needed to clear the first round of voting for the new president.
Analysts have said that opposition activists, who are pro-Syrian, want to prevent the ruling party, which is in favour of closer ties to the West, from electing their successor to replace Mr Lahoud.
The vote takes place in a tense atmosphere after the recent assassination of Antoine Ghanem, an anti-Syrian member of parliament. The killing led to fears that the poll may be delayed resulting in a further political impasse in the country.
It also led to allegations of a conspiracy to murder pro-western members of parliament to reduce the government's majority in the assembly and to obstruct the presidential vote.
A series of killings of anti-Syrian MPs has taken place over the last few years, the most serious being the assassination of prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.
That led to a United Nations inquiry probing Syria's involvement in the incident.