Lebanon fails again to elect a new president

The Lebanese parliament failed Wednesday for the second consecutive week to elect a new president to replace incumbent President Michel Suleiman whose term ends May 25.

Only 75 members of the 128-seat parliament attended the voting, way short of the required two-thirds majority, forcing Speaker Nabih Berri to postpone the session until May 7, Xinhua reported.

The constitution stipulates that a new president should be elected within two months before the end of the incumbent's term.

Observers say that parliamentarian Michel Aoun, a front-runner for the presidency and backer of the March 8 coalition, might be the reason behind the lawmakers' absence. Aoun has been hesitant in announcing his candidacy.

Lebanon has been split between two major opposing camps, resulting in a political deadlock throughout the administration.

The March 8 camp backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while another group, the March 14 camp, opposes the Syrian government and backs the rebels in their fight to topple al-Assad.

Berri, the parliament speaker, Wednesday urged the two feuding camps to reach "a political understanding".

The parliament failed last Wednesday to elect a new president after the first round of voting in which 124 lawmakers participated.

The March 14 candidate, Samir Geagea, gained 48 votes, while centrist Democratic Gathering party candidate, lawmaker Henri Helou, gained 16 votes. Neither reached the required two-thirds majority of 86 votes for an outright win.

In the second round, the candidate with a simple majority will be declared the winner, provided that enough lawmakers take part in the voting.