( AP ) - Lebanon's parliament put off a session to elect a new president until Oct. 23, a parliamentary official said Tuesday, after the legislature failed to muster a quorum because of an opposition boycott.
The announcement was made by a parliamentary official in the chamber after the bell rang three times to call the lawmakers into session. The majority attended but opposition members who had gathered in the building stayed in the hallways.
The postponement had been expected after the opposition, led by Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah, vowed to boycott the session to block the U.S.-supported majority from electing a president from their own ranks.
Mohammed Kabbani, a member of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, said there were more than 65 lawmakers, a simple majority, but less than 85 - the necessary two-thirds quorum - in attendance when the announcement was made.