By Xinhua
Beirut : Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday postponed a parliamentary session scheduled Tuesday to elect Lebanon’s president to April 22, local NBN TV reported.
The parliamentary session for electing a new president scheduled on Tuesday was postponed till April 22, Berri was quoted in a statement as saying. It is the 17th postponement since Sept. 25.
The statement said that Speaker Berri would set a prior date “in case a positive development takes place.”
The postponement came just one day that the speaker hinted in a talk show that the parliament session scheduled for March 25 to elect a president might be postponed for another time.
Berri, a main leader of the Lebanese opposition, promised to call for national dialogues to discuss solutions for Lebanese crises if the Arab summit and the Arab initiative failed to resolve it.
Lebanon is currently facing the most serious political deadlock since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war. For the first time in its history, the presidential seat has been vacant since Nov. 24 of 2007 when former President Emile Lahoud stepped down.
However, Lebanese political rival groups were unable to reach a breakthrough, in spite of Arab efforts to resolve the crises.
On Jan. 6, Arab League endorsed a resolution in Cairo, calling for the immediate election of Army commander Michel Suleiman as president, formation of a national unity government and adopting anew election law.
The presidency deadlock deepened the Lebanese political crisis as fears are mounting that failure in reaching a deal on the presidential candidate could result in more violence in the country.