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Political Fragmentation Hinders Lebanon's Stability
Real estate news By Benedetta Berti
10 October 2007
The recent failure to elect a successor to current President Emile Lahoud and the deepening political fragmentation within Lebanon pose a serious challenge to the already precarious local stability and governability situation. Furthermore, the ongoing escalation of violence only complicates the scenario and worsens the ongoing political crisis. The Lebanese parliament reconvened on September 25 to elect a successor to current President Emile Lahoud, whose mandate expires on November 23. This electoral appointment was also the occasion for the parliament to gather in a formal session for the first time in almost a year. The legislative body had in fact not met since November 2006, when the disagreement over the creation of a national unity government between the March 14 coalition and the Hezbollah-Amal opposition bloc had led the latter to initiate a political boycott, causing the de facto paralysis of the Lebanese government.
However, existing political and procedural disagreements between the two main political coalitions, and the renewed climate of political violence within the country, led to a failure of the first electoral round and to the postponement of the parliamentary session to October 23. Currently, numerous outstanding issues severely undermine the possibility of electing the new Lebanese president.
First, the parties have insofar failed to concur on a joint presidential nominee, as proposed by parliamentary speaker and member of the opposition Nabih Berri, who had put forth a national reconciliation initiative based on the nomination of a consensus candidate. The negotiations between the opposition and the majority coalitions have been stalled over the determination of the procedures for the presidential election. The Lebanese constitution -- in its Article 49 -- establishes that the president must be elected by a two-thirds majority in the first electoral round, or by an absolute majority after the first ballot.
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