Lebanon parliament fails again to election new president

The Lebanese parliament failed Wednesday for the 25th consecutive time to convene and elect a new president due to the missing constitutionally required quorum.

Speaker of the House Nabih Berri called for a new electoral session on July 15, a statement issued by his media office said.

Out of the 128-seat parliament, only 50 representatives arrived to the House whereas the quorum stipulates the presence of two thirds of the MPs.

According to the power sharing pact, the president must be a Christian Maronite, the Speaker a Muslim Shiite and the Premier a Muslim Sunni.

Lebanon has been without a president since May 25 2014, when former President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended.

The constitution states the government administers presidential powers in the case of a vacuum in the post.

The country is divided among two political forces, the March 14 camp led by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and the March 8 camp led by the Shiite militant party Hezbollah, who disagree over the personhood of the new president.

While the March 14 camp supports leader of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea, the March 8 camp supports MP Michel Aoun.

The Centrist Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc led by MP Walid Jumblat announced the nomination of its member MP Henri Helou for the post.

None of the political groups has the majority to elect their candidate with calls for selecting a president on the rise recently. Endit