Lebanon's inability to pick a president could bring chaos
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Less than 24 hours before the Lebanese president's term will expire, no one has been chosen to replace him.
Emile Lahoud's presidential term is set to end Friday at midnight (5 p.m. ET).
Parliament was scheduled to meet Friday to try for a fifth time to elect a president, but there were indications that the session would be canceled.
Pro- and anti-Syrian lawmakers had come to no agreement over a compromise candidate to replace the pro-Syrian Lahoud.
The Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition has suggested it might form a rival government.
Failure to settle on a candidate could lead to a power vacuum -- or worse. The army and other security forces were on full alert as the nation braced itself for possible violence.
The country's recent history includes near-constant factional fighting, political maneuvering and friction with Syria.
The election has been overshadowed by assassinations and attempted assassinations of anti-Syrian politicians.
In February 2005, the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut sparked widespread protests that led to the ouster of Syrian forces from Lebanon.
U.N. investigators concluded last year that Hariri's death may be linked to high-ranking Syrian officials. Syria has denied any involvement in the killings and said the U.N. tribunal investigating Hariri's death is a violation of its sovereignty.
In the past two years, four members of the Lebanese parliament have been assassinated. Watch how Lebanon got into this bind »
Meanwhile, members of the Western-backed parliamentary majority were holed up Thursday inside a Beirut hotel meeting in emergency session.
A general who is a powerful Christian leader, backed by Syria and allied with Hezbollah, appeared Thursday on television offering himself as a compromise candidate.
But his offer was rejected by the Western-backed majority led by Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated prime minister.
For the past few weeks, top-level mediators from France, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and other countries have been trying unsuccessfully to break the deadlock.
Some analysts suggested the president could name an interim military governor and House Speaker Nabih Berri hinted that he might postpone elections.
The foreign ministers of France, Italy and Spain issued a statement saying they have tried everything, and it is now up to the Lebanese to craft a solution.
Lebanese presidents are elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term and may not serve consecutive terms, according to the CIA Factbook. Lahoud was elected in 1998, the reference book says, and in 2004 the National Assembly voted to extend his six-year term by three years.
Source: CNN