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Middle East
Lebanon vote delayed once more
Parliamentary speaker postpones presidential elections until December 29.
Last Modified: 22 Dec 2007 04:08 GMT
Lebanon has been in crisis since Emile Lahoud's presidential term expired in November [File: AFP]

Lebanese presidential elections, scheduled for Friday, have been postponed for a tenth time until December 29.
 
General Michel Suleiman, the army chief, has been chosen as a consensus candidate by the feuding ruling coalition and opposition but the parties have failed to agree on how power will be shared once he is formally elected.
"Parliament speaker Nabih Berri has decided to postpone until December 29 the session that was scheduled for Saturday," a parliamentary statement said on Friday.
 
Nayla Moawad, an MP for the ruling majority, said: "We are determined to seek the election of army chief Michel Suleiman."

Special report

"We keep our hand extended toward the other party."

The Hezbollah-led opposition, supported by Syria and Iran, have agreed in principle with the ruling coalition to elect Suleiman.
 
However, a deal as to how power will be shared once Suleiman is elected has not been reached.
 
The presidency has been vacant since Emile Lahoud's term expired on November 23, precipitating the country's worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
 

The rival camps had been at odds for weeks over who should be the new president before consensus emerged Suleiman, who was appointed army chief in 1998 when Syria controlled Lebanon.

 

Suleiman is known for his good relations with the Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and Syria.

   

But the election has been held up by differences including the make-up of the new government and means to amend the constitution to allow a senior public servant to become president.

Source:
Agencies
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