Lebanon fails yet again to elect new president

Once more the Lebanese parliament failed Monday in its 35th session to elect a new president due to an incomplete constitutionally required quorum.

Speaker Nabih Berri scheduled a new session for March 2 after only 58 Members of Parliament (MP) attended the session.

Two thirds of the 128-seat parliament must be present to elect a new president, according to the constitution.

National power sharing stipulates that the president must be a Maronite Christian, the speaker a Shiite Muslim and the premier a Sunni Muslim.

Lebanon has so far been without a president since May 25th of 2014, when former President Michel Suleiman's term ended without electing a successor.

Ongoing disputes between rivals March 8 and 14 camps concerning a compromise over a candidate have stymied the polls.

However, some observers were optimistic that a head of state would be elected during Monday's session after Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea (of the March 14 camp) endorsed his longtime rival Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun (of the March 8 camp) as president.

Over the weekend, however, Hezbollah, Aoun's main ally, announced that its legislators would boycott the electoral session unless an agreement to elect the MP is reached.

Another development was the endorsement of MP Suleiman Franjieh, another March 8 camp member, by head of the March 14 camp and al-Mustaqbal movement leader former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to the post.
  [Xinhua]
9/2/16