Arab League leader urges speedy election of Lebanese president

BEIRUT — Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called Monday on Lebanon to elect a president "as soon as possible," as the country nears the end of a second month with no head of state. 

Aboul Gheit had been speaking during a meeting with Lebanon's caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi, currently on an official visit to Egypt, according to an Arab League statement.

The Arab League leader stressed "the need to distance Lebanon from regional tensions" and for the country to "elect a president as soon as possible," the statement read. Lebanon must "put in place practical reforms on the economic front, in order to pave the way for international aid," Aboul Gheit added. "The Arab League will continue to help Lebanon to overcome the current challenges."

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri led a 10th failed legislative session last Thursday to elect a successor to former president Michel Aoun, who left office Oct. 31. The session adjourned without result due to a lack of political consensus. Berri has yet to schedule a new session. As in previous weeks, he ended the voting following the first round, after several members of parliament left the chamber.