Middle East News
Lebanon's parliament elects Suleiman as president (Extra)
May 25, 2008, 14:39 GMT
Beirut - Lebanon's parliament Sunday duly elected army chief General Michel Suleiman as the country's 12th president, filling a post left vacant for six months by a political crisis that had threatened a new civil war.
'Suleilman garnered 118 votes and I declare him president of Lebanon,' House Speaker Nabih Berri announced after the voting.
A Qatari-brokered deal last week between rival Lebanese leaders defused 18 months of political stalemate that erupted into fighting this month. Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters briefly seized parts of Beirut, routing government loyalists.
The vote had been postponed 19 times because of the crisis. dpa wh sc
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