by middleeastmonitor.com

The Lebanese Parliament has postponed presidential elections for the 34th times due to the lack of quorum, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri announced on Wednesday.

“The Iranian-Saudi crisis has big implications,” Berri said, adding: “After we have been striving to elect a President of the Republic, our top ambition has turned to maintain dialogue.”

The National News Agency yesterday reported that “the 34th session to elect a president was postponed until February 8.”

Only 36 members of parliament attended the session.

According to Lebanese law, presidential elections require the presence of two-thirds of the parliament’s members.

The Lebanese Parliament has not been able to reach quorum to elect a new president since former President Michel Suleiman’s mandate ended on 25 May 2014.