Lebanon Parliament Fails to Elect a President for 12th Time

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon's parliament failed to elect a president on Wednesday at its 12th attempt, with neither Hezbollah-backed candidate Suleiman Frangieh nor former finance minister Jihad Azour securing enough votes to win the first round of voting.

Fifty nine MPs voted for Azour, 51 for Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh, 6 for former minister Ziad Baroud, one for Army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun and 8 for "New Lebanon" amid controversy over a "missing" vote.

Berri adjourned the voting session despite demands by the MPs to repeat the vote or the counting, as the counted ballots were 127 while 128 MPs voted.