Vote sessions 'become a farce' as MPs fail again to elect president

Lebanon's divided parliament failed to elect a new president Thursday for a tenth time, despite the damage the political deadlock is doing to efforts to bail out its bankrupt economy.

Parliament is split between supporters of Hezbollah and its opponents, neither of whom have a clear majority.

High tensions had recently arisen between Hezbollah and its ally the Free Patriotic Movement over a cabinet session that the FPM boycotted and Hezbollah attended. The two have also failed to agree on a presidential candidate.

Hezbollah opponent Michel Moawad, who is seen as close to the United States, won the support of 38 MPs but again fell well short of the required majority.

Only 109 of parliament's 128 lawmakers showed up for the vote.

Some MPs wrote in mock choices for the vacant presidency, with one vote cast for Martin Luther King and another that said "it has become a farce."

Thirty seven blank votes were cast and 8 MPs voted for prominent historian and academic Issam khalifeh. Two MPs voted for former Minister Ziad Baroud, two for ex-MP Salah Honein, and one for former Customs chief Shafiq Merhi.

Speaker Nabih Berri left after the first round of voting and did not call for an upcoming session.

Berri wanted to turn today's session into a parliamentary dialogue but the blocs did not agree to such a move, especially the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement.