The Lebanese parliament is scheduled to make its ninth attempt in a row to elect a president Wednesday, amid no expectations that the session will be any different from previous ones which were adjourned over a lack of quorum.
Political sources told The Daily Star there is no interest in electing a new head of state in the absence of an agreement on a consensus candidate to succeed President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year tenure ended on May 25.
The sources said that the atmosphere of the electoral session was not serious at all, as only one MP, independent Nicholas Fattoush, had arrived in Parliament, less than an hour before the scheduled noon session.
It is unlikely that Speaker Nabih Berri will turn up to Parliament given the improbability of quorum being reached.
MPs are more concerned about what they consider pressing issues, including the salary scale and payment of public employees’ salaries than they are about filling the country’s top post, the sources said.
The last failed session was July 5.
