Lebanon Mps Fail To Elect New President

Lebanese lawmakers on Wednesday failed to elect a new president to succeed incumbent leader Michel Suleiman, whose term is due to end on May 25, after no candidate was able to garner the minimum two-thirds majority needed to win the post.



Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea, fielded by the Western-backed, anti-Damascus March 14 bloc, won 48 votes of the 124 lawmakers present, while MP Henri Helou – who is backed by  Druze leader Walid Jumblatt – won only 16.



At least 52 of the ballots were left blank, mostly by members of the Hezbollah-led March 8 bloc, which has not officially backed any candidate.



One vote went to former president Amine Gemayel, who has not announced an intention to run for the post, while seven ballots were deemed invalid.



Six of the invalid votes bore the names of slain political figures, the assassinations of whom during Lebanon's civil war (1975-1990) Geagea has long been accused of involvement in.



Following the vote count, Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri adjourned the session to next Wednesday for a second round after most of March 8 bloc members walked out, thus preventing the quorum needed to conduct a second round of voting.



According to Lebanon's national charter, the post of president must be filled by a Maronite Christian for a term of six years.



The vote comes as the three-year conflict in next-door Syria continues to fuel sectarian tension inside Lebanon, with ongoing military involvement in Syria by Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah group drawing condemnation from some local Sunni groups.



Geagea was the first candidate to be officially nominated for Wednesday's parliamentary vote to elect Suleiman's successor.



Geagea, 62, played a key role in the civil war. His right-wing LF party is an offshoot of the Kataeb paramilitary force, which he led at one point during the war.



In 1994, Geagea was arrested and charged with bombing a church northeast of Beirut. Although he was acquitted of the charges, he was sentenced to death in the same year after being accused of assassinating former prime minister Rashid Karami.



Then-president Elias Hrawi, however, commuted Geagea's sentence to life behind bars, while formally dissolving his LF party.



Geagea was eventually pardoned in 2005 by Lebanon's parliament, however, which was formed in the wake of Syria's military withdrawal from the country.



By Hamza Takeen



englishnews@aa.com.tr - Beyrut