Vote For President In Lebanon Delayed

BEIRUT, Sept. 25 — The Lebanese Parliament, which was scheduled to elect a new president today, failed to muster a quorum because of the deadlock among the country’s political factions, and the vote was postponed until Oct. 23.

But faction leaders showed some new willingness to negotiate with one another, in a session that was carefully choreographed to quell popular fears of civil strife in the country.

Legislators from the pro-Western governing majority entered the chambers of Parliament carrying photographs of four of their number who have been killed in a string of bombings aimed at outspoken critics of Syria. The most recent incident, a week ago, claimed the lives of a Christian lawmaker, Antoine Ghanem; his bodyguard; and five bystanders.

Still, government officials toned down their language today after a week of issuing dire warnings and predictions, including a claim by one leader that pro-Syrian forces were trying to murder enough lawmakers to tilt the balance in the presidential contest.

“Despite everything, we continue to seek constructive dialogue to salvage the presidential election and save Lebanon from the danger of falling into a vacuum,” the deputy speaker of Parliament, Farid Makari, told reporters after the session. Mr. Makari, who belongs to the governing coalition, said the lawmakers gathered today despite the political deadlock “to show steadfastness in the face of murderers and to protect Lebanese unity.”

The session was boycotted by most lawmakers from Hezbollah, the radical Shiite Muslim party, and its allied factions, who were determined to stop any presidential vote from taking place until the governing majority agrees to put forth a compromise candidate with wider support.

A political crisis has been brewing for nearly a year over whether Lebanon will make a more conclusive break with Syria, which occupied the country until 2005, and whether it will force Hezbollah to disband its militia, which currently functions as a second army completely beyond government control.

The struggle has come to a head over the selection of a new president to replace the current, pro-Syrian head of state, Émile Lahoud, whose tenure ends on Nov. 23.

Strains have been increasing since last year’s war between Hezbollah and Israel and Hezbollah’s subsequent occupation of central Beirut. The governing majority claims the right to elect a new president with a simple parliamentary majority, while Hezbollah and its allies insist that the next president must be a consensus candidate who can win the support of at least two-thirds of the legislature.

The speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, a Shiite leader aligned with Hezbollah, has been trying to broker talks between the sides. His efforts appeared to gain traction today, as politicians from both sides publicly embraced the speaker’s initiative.

“Everyone was afraid the country was headed somewhere dangerous with this presidential election, especially after the assassination of Ghanem,” said Ali Hamdan, director of international relations for Mr. Berri’s party, Amal. “Today I believe we have relaunched optimism.”

Saad Hariri, leader of the governing coalition, spoke to Mr. Berri in his office today for the first time in months, a further sign that the two sides were willing to enter serious discussions. On Monday, Mr. Berri met with an influential Christian religious leader to discuss ways out of the political impasse.

“The climate is positive and conciliatory to reach the stage of electing a president for all the Lebanese,” Mr. Hariri said. “I am optimistic.”

Still, tension pervaded the capital as security forces sealed off almost every major road through the center of Beirut this morning. Many government lawmakers, fearful of further assassination attempts, have moved to the Phoenicia Hotel on the waterfront, and barrel through the empty streets in motorcades of sport-utility vehicles lined with Lebanese soldiers and police special forces.

In Parliament, pro-government lawmakers wore the red and white scarves popularized by the protest movement that forced Syria out of Lebanon in 2005. They placed photographs of slain politicians, including former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, on the chairs where they used to sit.

Most television networks here carried live coverage of the parliamentary session, with teams of commentators narrating the proceedings like a sports broadcast.

At the Costa Cafe on Hamra Street, several tables of retirees expressed relief after the session.

“For the first time, I feel something tangible has happened to resolve this presidential crisis,” said Zulfikar Kobaissi, the publisher of a Lebanese business journal. “I have much less worry than I had before.”

Still, many Lebanese people are wary after two and half turbulent years that began with Mr. Hariri’s assassination and have been marked by the withdrawal of the Syrian army, a war with Israel, and now a power struggle between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.

With no solution in sight for the fundamental problems threatening Lebanon’s delicate political balancing act, which now rests on a formula for apportioning political positions by sect, Mr. Kobaissi and his friends see potential for disaster, but not for salvation, in the presidential election.

“If we don’t elect a president, it is a huge crisis,” Mr. Kobaissi said. “But if we elect a president, it doesn’t solve the problems. We still have the same problems as before.”

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