Last update - 00:00 15/12/2007
U.S. envoy urges Lebanon to quickly name new president
By Reuters
BEIRUT - Lebanon should move swiftly to elect a president, a U.S. envoy said on Saturday, two days before parliament meets to pick the army chief as head of state.
Doubts still remain over whether the assembly session will take place for a vote that has already been delayed eight times by disputes between Lebanon's pro- and anti-Syrian factions.
"It is the belief of the United States that it's time now for Lebanon to elect its next president," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs David Welch said after meeting Maronite Christian Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir.
"It is time ... for the members of parliament to fulfil their duty and go to parliament and vote. This is what Lebanon needs to face the challenges it has," he said.
Deputies from the Hezbollah-led opposition have torpedoed previous attempts to secure a two-thirds quorum in parliament for a presidential vote. They are determined to stop the anti-Syrian ruling coalition, which has a slim majority in the chamber, from electing one of its own candidates.
Two weeks ago, both sides agreed in principle to elect the army commander, General Michel Suleiman, to replace pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, whose term expired on Nov. 23.
But differences on how to amend the constitution to permit a top public servant to run for office are still unresolved.
Welch was also due to meet Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key opposition leader.
Arab and Western nations have pressed the Western-backed coalition and the opposition to resolve their differences and avoid a protracted vacuum that could further destabilize Lebanon.
Tensions worsened after the assassination on Wednesday of Brigadier General Francois al-Hajj, who was tipped to become the next army chief after Suleiman becomes president.
France, Lebanon's former colonial power, has led an intensive mediation drive to resolve the crisis. French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged the Lebanese parliament to seize its "last chance" on Monday to elect a president.
The United States has been less directly involved in mediation efforts and has kept up a stream of criticism against Syria, which it accuses of meddling in Lebanon's affairs.
Electing Suleiman as president, who must be a Maronite in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, would help defuse the country's worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Suleiman, 59, was appointed army chief in 1998 when Syria still dominated Lebanon. He is on good terms with Hezbollah, a powerful military-political group backed by Syria and Iran.