Political deadlock blocks election of Lebanese president

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* Geagea votes eclipsed by blank ballots * Rival Aoun says ** clear consensus emerged * Politicians say presidential poll could take months (Adds details, quotes) By Laila Bassam and Dominic Evans BEIRUT, April 23 (Reuters) - Lebanese parliamentarians failed to elect a new president on Wednesday in a first round of voting deadlocked by domestic rifts and the war in Syria, which has polarised Middle East states that traditionally broker Leba**n's political deals. Leading candidate Samir Geagea, a former warlord who spent 11 years in prison after Leba**n's civil war, fell well short of the required two-thirds support in a vote that could be the first of many attempts to agree on a successor to President Michel Suleiman. That prospect is hampered by the devastating conflict in Syria where Saudi Arabia, which supports Leba**n's Sunni Muslim-led March 14 bloc, and Iran, which backs the Shi'ite militant Hezbollah and its March 8 allies, are arming opposing fighters. "It's clear that ** one has built a consensus around him," said former army chief Michel Aoun and prominent March 8 politician, who has made ** secret of his own presidential ambitions but has yet to launch a campaign.

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