The Lebanese opposition on Tuesday rejected as unconstitutional draft legislation drawn up by the government aimed at ending deep divisions over the choice of the country's next president.
The Western-backed cabinet on Monday unveiled a draft law for a constitutional amendment to enable the election of army chief Michel Sleiman as head of state after weeks of deadlock.
But Ali Hassan Khalil, an opposition MP from the Shiite Amal party of powerful parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, dismissed the proposed legislation - which would change the constitution for one time only to allow a public servant to hold the post of president.
He told reporters it had "no constitutional validity" and charged that it would only serve as an "obstacle to any compromise" between the Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition and the ruling coalition.
Lawmakers are set to meet on Saturday in an 11th bid to vote for a new head of state, but many expect Lebanon to remain without a president until after December 31 when parliament will be in recess.
The country has been without a head of state since former Syrian-backed president Emile Lahoud's term expired on November 23 without feuding political rivals agreeing on a successor.
The government and the opposition have agreed on Sleiman as the man for the job, but remain at odds over the election process and the shape of a new administration.
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