Lebanon's political leaders were waiting on Wednesday for the powerful Maronite cardinal to name presidential candidates amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts to break a damaging political deadlock.
Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, who heads the largest Christian community from which presidents are traditionally chosen, is expected to name up to six candidates before a fast-approaching November 23 deadline. Western dignitaries were pouring into Lebanon as fears ran high that the long-running political row could lead to a return to the final years of the 1975-1990 civil war when two competing administrations battled for control.
Parliament speaker Nabih Berri has already called off a special session for MPs to elect a new president three times, amid a failure of the Western-backed ruling majority and the pro-Syrian opposition to find a compromise candidate. And there are fears a last-ditch parliament session set for November 21 to choose a successor to Damascus-backed incumbent President Emile Lahoud could also end in failure.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country is leading a Western-backed initiative to end the impasse, held talks in Beirut on Tuesday, while UN chief Ban Ki-moon was due to visit Lebanon on Thursday.