Lebanese session to elect president likely to be postponed again
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A parliament session to elect a president is likely to be postponed once again - as political wrangling continued Thursday to hold up a deal on endorsing Lebanon's army chief as a consensus candidate to fill the vacant post, despite the mediation here of France's foreign minister.
The parliament was scheduled to meet Friday to vote to approve Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman for the presidency.
Suleiman emerged as a compromise candidate after months of disputes left the country in a dangerous political vacuum and after pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud stepped down Nov. 23 without a successor.
Visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, a top international mediator between the feuding Lebanese, stepped up efforts Thursday to broker a consensus on the eve of the session.