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By Challiss McDonough
Beirut
25 May 2008
Former Lebanese army chief Michel Suleiman was sworn in as the country's new President Sunday, following a long-delayed vote in parliament. His election brings an end to the political crisis that has paralyzed Lebanon's government for the last 18 months, and recently set off the worst internal violence since the end of the civil war. Suleiman has appealed for national unity. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from Beirut.
One by one, the members of parliament slid their ballots into a glass-sided box. When the counting began, one by one, officials read the same name on almost every one.
Former army commander Michel Suleiman was elected president with 118 out of 127 votes.
Six deputies abstained, two voted for other politicians, and one voted for "Rafik Hariri and the martyrs," a reference to the slain former prime minister and other Lebanese leaders who have been assassinated over the past three years.
The lack of a unanimous vote, even though Mr. Suleiman was the consensus candidate agreed to by all the political parties, illustrates the fragility of the compromise that brought him to the presidency. It also indicates how tough some of the challenges facing the new president will be as he attempts to build consensus and lead the country out of its political stalemate.
Wearing a dark suit and a gray tie, Mr. Suleiman took the oath of office to rousing applause. Most of Lebanon's political leaders welcomed his election as a step toward ending the political crisis that has dragged on for the last year an a half and erupted into deadly clashes earlier this month. The vote came after the rival factions reached a power-sharing deal at talks in Qatar on Wednesday.
In his inaugural address to parliament, the new president called on Lebanese to unite and work toward reconciliation.
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