"Vacuum" looms as Lebanese lawmakers fail to choose a president

[rss]

* Syrian conflict deepens rift between main camps * Politicians say standoff could last for months * Incumbent president term expires on May 25 By Laila Bassam BEIRUT, May 7 (Reuters) - Lebanese lawmakers failed for a third time to choose a president on Wednesday, raising fears the seat will remain vacant after President Michel Suleiman's term expires in less than three weeks. Parliament speaker Nabih Berri called a new session on May 15, but politicians said they expected disagreements over Suleiman's replacement could drag on for months after he leaves ****** on May 25. Any candidate would likely have to garner some support from the two main political blocs - Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah's March 8 alliance and the rival Sunni-led March 14 coalition - to win the necessary majority from parliament's 128 deputies. But tensions worsened by the increasingly sectarian war in neighbouring Syria, where Sunni rebels are fighting to overthrow Hezbollah ally President Bashar al-Assad, have hardened the stalemate between the two sides.

أكثر... (https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/vacuum-looms-lebanese-lawmakers-fail-choose-president-123904599.html)