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 29 August 2008 07:06 BST

Lebanon divided over president

Saturday, 24 Nov 2007 09:17
Another parliamentary vote to pick Emile Lahoud's successor will take place on November 30th
There are fears of further instability in Lebanon after the country's president left office without agreement on his successor.

Over the past few months, Lebanese political parties have been divided over who should follow pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud as the country's head. The deadline for the parliament to elect the next leader has now passed and Mr Lahoud has resigned from office.

The country's parliament is divided between parties who favour closer relations with Syria and those who favour improved ties with the west. Since a two-thirds majority is needed to elect a new president neither side has been able to pick a new leader and negotiations to find a compromise candidate have also failed.

Mr Lahoud favoured army chief Michael Suleiman to take over control of the administration while his political rivals led by prime minister Fouad Siniora claim that under the constitution political power should pass over to him.

Upon resigning, the former president told the AFP news agency: "If they do not elect a new consensual president, with the required two-thirds majority, we have men who can stand up."

Many parliamentary votes to pick the new president have failed to take place due to the opposition boycotting proceedings.

A new vote to elect the country's leader is scheduled to be held on November 30th.
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