Every few weeks fr the past year,
Lebanon's parliament has met
exchanged pleasantries ,and made
the same announcement that it has
again been unable to elect a president.
Pluralistic but divided Lebanon has
now been without a head of state for
12 months ,the longest time the post
has been vacant since the devastating
civil war ended in 1990.
But analysts say that regional conflicts,
particularly the raging war in neighbouring
Syria ,make a presidential election in
Lebanon unlikely in the near future.
"As long as the region is in constant
turmoil,as we are experiencing now ..
Lebanon will have a difficult time agreeing
on a president",said Imad Salamey ,professor
of political science at the Lebanese American
University in Beirut.
Sahar Atrash, analyst at the international
Crisis Group ,said that Lebanon ,which
is influenced heavily by regional power
houses,Iran and Saudi Arabia,"is not a
priority "for now.
"Today ,the regional sponsors are -waging
direct wars and proxy wars ,and the regional
issues are much bigger than meeting to elect
a president for Lebanon she said.
Since Michel Sleiman's term in office ended
on May 25,2014 parliament --which is
responsible for electing the president --has
failed 23 times to meet the two-thirds quorum
required to hold an electoral session.
Since independence ,Lebanon 's leadership
post have been distributed among its largest
religious sects; Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslim
and Christian ,for whom the presidency is reserved,
With the onset of the Syrian regime 's tutelage
over Lebanon in 1990, the head of the state
--whose powers had largely been weakened
was elected with specific orders from Damascus.
Today the country 's political class is split into
two coalitions; March 8,which includes the
powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah and
supports the Syrian regime ,and March 14
led by Sunni former premier ,Saad Hariri
and bolstered by the West and Saudi Arabia.
AFP
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