Lebanon's parliament was scheduled to meet yesterday to amend the Constitution to enable the election of the army chief as head of state, officials of the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority and the opposition backed by Damascus and Tehran said.
Several politicians had said on Thursday that the parliamentary vote was set to be delayed for a seventh time as feuding parties accused each other of blocking the process.
But an official of Saad Hariri's ruling Future parliamentary bloc who requested anonymity said: "There's a session Friday to amend the Constitution."
This was backed by an opposition member of parliament who said parliamentary speaker and opposition leader Nabih Berri had called on members of his bloc to take part in the meeting.
Also asking for anonymity, the opposition member of parliament said he did not rule out the presidential election being held after the vote on amending the Constitution.
After weeks of negotiations, rival leaders have agreed on army chief General Michel Sleiman for the top job but are still divided on how to amend the Constitution to allow his election and on the make-up of a new Cabinet.
Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun reiterated on Thursday that he would only endorse Sleiman for two years until the 2009 parliamentary elections, and blamed the ruling majority for the deadlock.
"I have made enough compromises and I will add a new demand every day," Aoun said.
The ruling majority "led us to the void. They thought that the void would scare us ... but it does not scare us and the presidency will always be there," he said.
"If not now, in a week, if not, in a month or in a year. The country will not be destroyed, more than this current government has been destroying it," said Aoun, who had himself been running for the top job.
Article 49 of the Constitution bars public servants from assuming the presidency within two years of leaving their posts.
Lebanon has been without a president since Nov. 23, when incumbent Emile Lahoud stepped down at the end of his term.
Aoun has suggested the crisis over the presidency could end if independent figures are chosen to fill the posts of president and prime minister, a proposal the ruling majority has rejected.
The Hezbollah-led opposition has been seeking a "comprehensive deal" to end the crisis, including agreements on the new president, the make-up of the next government, a new electoral law and the appointment of security chiefs.
The ruling majority has insisted that it would not be tied down to any pre-set deals before a president is elected, saying lingering problems would be dealt with by the future government and parliament.
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