Lebanon cancelled on Friday all official celebrations to mark its independence day, due to the current vacancy of presidency, the National News Agency reported.
Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam issued a circulation on Friday to cancel all official events to celebrate the country's independence, which was achieved on Nov. 22, 1943, from French mandate, as the country has remained without a president for nearly six months.
Since President Michel Suleiman's tenure ended on May 25, the parliament has failed for 15 consecutive times to elect a new president due to a sharp division among political parties.
The latest parliament voting was on Wednesday, when merely 56 MPs out of the 128-seat parliament were present, far less than the required constitutional two-thirds quorum, which pushed Speaker Nabih Berri to call for a new session on Dec. 10.
According to the constitution, Prime Minister Tammam Salam's government is in charge of the president's office until a new president is elected.
It's not the first time that Lebanon's presidency has turned vacuum. In 1988, after President Amine Gemayel's tenure ended, the country remained without a president until 1989. Again in 2007 after the extended term of President Emile Lahoud ended, the post remained vacant until May 25, 2008, when President Suleiman was elected.