Lebanon fails again to elect new president

Lebanon failed Monday for the 38th consecutive time to elect a new president due to lack of the constitutionally required quorum at the parliament.

Speaker Nabih Berri scheduled the new electoral session for May 10.

Fifty-three lawmakers were present at Monday's session, a drop from the previous one that witnessed the participation of 62 parliamentarians out the 128-seat house.

Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the six-year term of president Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor.

Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps have thwarted the polls that are being contested between Change and Reform bloc head MP Michel Aoun, Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh, and Democratic Gathering MP Henri Helou.

The Loyalty to the Resistance bloc of Hezbollah announced earlier this year that it would boycott electoral sessions until it receives guarantees that its ally, Aoun, is elected head of state.

Source: XINHUA