Lebanon's prime minister-designate Omar Karameh struggled on Monday to form a new government amid disputes over cabinet posts and a law to set the framework for legislative elections due in May.
"The formation of a new government which was expected today was delayed by differences on the electoral law, and Karameh is trying to settle last minute obstacles," a government source was quoted as saying by AFP.
"The obstacles center on the cabinet line-up and the electoral law."
Karameh told reporters at the weekend that the new government would be formed Monday but two ministers from his outgoing pro-Syrian cabinet announced that they did not wish to join the next administration.
Karameh resigned on February 28 following massive street protests sparked by the assassination of ex-Premier Rafic al Hariri as well as pressure from the international community and the anti-Syrian opposition.
Syria meanwhile intensified the pace of its troop pullout from the Bekaa valley of eastern Lebanon. Syrian military intelligence agents evacuated a position in the village of Mashghara in southeastern Lebanon, AFP reported.
The troops also dismantled and left five positions in the Qaraoun region, from where 40 military vehicles were seen carrying soldiers and equipment toward the Masnaa crossing point into Syria.
