Greater Middle East (bbabo.net), - The Lebanese parliament failed for the third time to elect a successor to current President Michel Aoun, raising fears of creating a political vacuum afterm expires at the end of the month. It is reported by bbabo.net News on October 20.

Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri has called for another vote next Monday, October 24, in hopes of overcoming sharp divisions between political factions.

MP Michel Moawad, son of former President René Moawad, was seen as Aoun's likely successor, but the first vote in Parliament fell flat last month. At today's meeting, he received 42 votes, well short of the 65 votes required for election in the second round of voting. A total of 119 deputies from the 128-seat Lebanese parliament attended the session, but the quorum was lost before the second round, as some deputies left the meeting, and another 55 deputies abstained from voting.

“We are still working to unite the ranks of the opposition,” deputy Sami Gemayel, who supported Moawad's candidacy, told reporters after the meeting. “We are facing difficulties, but I hope that as the October 31 deadline approaches, everyone will come together.”

Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah told reporters ahead of the vote that "there is no consensus and no comprehensive dialogue between the various blocs."

Under Lebanon's long-standing sectarian power-sharing system, the presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian. The system of political confessionalism in the country has its roots since the independence of Lebanon and is often criticized as an ineffective and outdated "rudiment" that must be overcome in the name of the country's future.

bbabo.Net