A session in Lebanon's parliament called today to elect a new president was postponed until next month after the opposition boycotted it.
The opposition stayed away from the session to elect a successor to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, blocking the anti-Syrian majority from choosing a new head of state. A two-thirds quorum was not achieved.
The opposition wants deal on a consensus candidate for the presidency before its MPs will attend.
The session that was supposed to be a vote to pick a replacement for pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, whose term ends on November 23rd, came at a time of deep political division in Lebanon, just days after the assassination of an anti-Syrian MP who was a member of the majority coalition formed on March 14th.
The March 14th coalition had hoped to elect a figure from their own ranks in the first presidential election since Syrian troops were forced to withdraw from Lebanon in 2005 after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Seven other anti-Syrian figures have been killed since the Hariri assassination.
Security was tight today around parliament building, which is close to an encampment set up by the opposition in December as part of a campaign against Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's Western-backed government.
Hundreds of troops and police lined the streets leading to parliament to provide safe passage for officials, while large numbers deployed across central Beirut, blocking off roads and clearing cars from street sides.