Arab and foreign officials began arriving
in Lebanon Sunday for the parliamentary session to elect army commander general
Michel Suleiman as president.
The Emir of Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa, who brokered the Doha agreement that
ended Lebanon's 18-month political deadlock, arrived in Beirut.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem also arrived at Beirut international
airport on Sunday.
Earlier, the foreign ministers of France, Italy and Spain arrived, as well as a
US congressional delegation, headed by Nick Rahall. Foreign ministers of Iran and Iraq were also in the country. "We are extremely happy to take part in this election
today ... and see that Lebanon is returning to stability," Iranian Foreign
minister Manouchehr Mottaki said.
In all, 127 lawmakers will gather in parliament at 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) to cast
their votes at a long-awaited session attended by around 200 invited guests.
Meanwhile, at incoming president's residence, friends and family members
gathered on Sunday to share the happy moment with Suleiman - successor to Emile
Lahoud.
In a brief statement to Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, the new Suleiman said:
"I very happy to see all the Lebanese people happy."
His election will mark a first step toward ending the 18-month political
standoff between Lebanon's rival political sides.
The main challenge for Suleiman, 59, will be to position himself as neutral and
reconcile Lebanon's the Western-backed parliamentary majority and the
Hezbollah-led opposition, which is backed by Iran and Syria.
The differences between the two political sides had left the presidency vacant
since Lahoud's term ended in late November 2007. Nineteen previous attempts to
get lawmakers together to elect a successor failed.
Last Wednesday, the feuding sides finally agreed to elect Suleiman and form a
national unity government, in which the opposition has veto power. The deal
followed five days of intense talks in the Qatari capital.
The Doha talks came after 82 people were killed in fierce sectarian battles
earlier this month between supporters of the opposition and pro-government
forces.
The clashes amounted to the deadliest internal political violence since the end
of the 1975-1990 civil war and threatened to ignite an all-out conflict, as
Hezbollah and its allies managed to seize most of the mainly Sunni Muslim west
Beirut which is loyal to the majority.
Over the 10 years he served as army commander, Suleiman managed to stay out of
the political bickering.
"I cannot save the country on my own ... This mission requires the efforts
of all," he told journalists this week.
After the new head of state is sworn in, the government of Prime Minister Fouad
Seniora will resign in line with the constitution.
A career soldier, Suleiman joined the army in 1967. He was appointed military
chief in December 1998. He is married and has three children, dpa reported.
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