Lebanon: Presidential vote delayed again

Published April 22nd, 2008 - 11:14 GMT

Lebanon's parliament failed to hold a session to elect a president on Tuesday -- the 18th time the chamber has been unable to hold a vote. According to Reuters, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri did not set a new election date and instead called on rival leaders to hold roundtable talks.

 

"In one, two or three days at most if I don't find a (positive) response for the dialogue, I will set a new session," Berri told reporters after parliament failed to hold the vote due to lack of two-thirds quorum. "A serious dialogue is needed to determine what election law is to be adopted," Berri added.

 

Before the announcement, Berri had held a closed door meeting with Walid Jumblatt, a leader in the ruling coalition.