Associated Press
Sunday, November 11, 2007

BEIRUT, Nov. 10 -- With just two weeks left before the president has to step down, Lebanon's parliament speaker on Saturday postponed presidential elections for the third time to give deadlocked rival factions more time to find a compromise candidate.

The 128-seat parliament, dominated by anti-Syrian legislators, was scheduled to meet Monday for another attempt to choose a successor to pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, who steps down Nov. 24.

A September session failed to reach a quorum because of an opposition boycott, and an October attempt was postponed as negotiators struggled to find a compromise candidate.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in a statement issued by the parliament's secretariat general, said he decided to postpone the election until Nov. 21 "to give more time for consultations to reach agreement on a president."

The decision followed a meeting Friday night between Berri, who is aligned with the Syria-backed, Hezbollah-led opposition, and legislator Saad Hariri, leader of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority in Lebanon.