Lebanese President Calls In Army After Crucial Vote Delayed

by Rob Walker | November 23, 2007 at 10:01 am | 648 views | 4 comments

Lebanon Presidential Vote Delayed, Sparks Fears of Violence

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As of 4pm EST President Emile Lahoud has called in the army after his political adversaries in parliament blocked the election of the new president, expected to take over the reigns of Lebanon at midnight.

[q
url="http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-11-23T205901Z_01_L23519116_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-LEBANON-PRESIDENT-LAHOUD-COL.XML"]Lebanese
President Emile Lahoud ordered the army to take charge of security on
Friday after political rivalry blocked the election of his successor,
hours before he was due to step down.

The Lebanese parliament failed on Friday to grasp its last chance to
elect a head of state before pro-Syrian Lahoud's term expires at
midnight (5 p.m. EST). The speaker of parliament asked members to meet
again next Friday for another attempt.

The move leaves the country in political vacuum with rivals claiming to be the legitimate power.

A presidential statement repeated Lahoud's view that the existing
cabinet led by Western-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was
illegitimate. The constitution stipulates that the serving government
takes on presidential powers until a new head of state is elected.[/q]

As if tensions aren't running high enough in the middle east already, the Lebanese parliament failed to schedule a presidential vote, creating a power vaccuum when President Emile Lahoud leaves office tonight.

Lebanon's parliament failed on Friday to grasp its last chance to elect a head of state before pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud leaves office at midnight, creating a vacuum that many fear could lead to violence.

Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shi'ite opposition leader, put off the vote for a fifth time because rival factions were deadlocked. He delayed the session for a week.

"To allow for more consultations to arrive at the election of a president...the session is postponed to Friday, November 30," Berri said in a statement read on his behalf.

The delay means the presidency, always held by a Maronite Christian under Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, will be vacant for at least a week. Unless a consensus candidate emerges soon, the country could end up saddled with competing administrations as at the end of its 1975-1990 civil war.