The Times they aren't a changing: Lebanon-voting

When it comes to electing presidents, the Lebanese prefer to procrastinate.

From today's Times:

Vote Is Postponed as Lebanese President Leaves

By THANASSIS CAMBANIS and NADA BAKRI

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 24 — The departing Lebanese president, Emile Lahoud, asked the military to take charge of the nation’s security on Friday, a few hours after the speaker of Parliament prolonged the country’s political crisis by postponing for a week a vote to choose a new president.

This habit appears to date back to the 1950s:

July 23, 1958

Lebanese Chamber Defers Election of New President

Speaker declares vote is indefinitely postponed--Murphy interviews leaders of the opposition

BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 22--The Lebanese Presidential election due Thursday was postponed indefinitely tonight. This was decided despite efforts by Robert Murphy, special United States envoy, to promote a compromise between the feuding Government and Opposition chiefs.

Two more examples after the jump:

May 5, 1976
Beirut Dispute over Syrians May Halt Vote Again

By HENRY TANNER

BEIRUT, Lebanon, May 4--A growing dispute over Syria's role in Lebanon makes it likely that the election of a new president, tentatively set for Saturday, will have to be postponed a second time. It was originally scheduled for last Saturday.

Some politicians fear that if the election is further delayed a new president will find it impossible to command adequate authority to govern this divided nation after a year of civil war.

August 19, 1982

Vote for Lebanese President is put off

By JOHN KIFNER

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug. 18 -- The politically explosive election for a new President of Lebanon, which threatened a renewed showdown between Moslems and Christians, was postponed late tonight from Thursday to Monday.

The postponement came after a day in which Moslem political leaders worked desperately to block a presidential bid by Bashir Gemeyal, the leader of the Christian militia, and in which leftist Moslem militias fired on the Parliament building.

The state television station said tonight that the postponement had been prompted by "deteriorating security conditions." It said that Monday's voting by members of Parliament had been moved from the Parliament building, situated in the no man's land of the green line that splits this city into warring a camps, to a school in a Christian controlled suburb of Beirut.