Beirut: As expected, Lebanese parliamentarians failed to form a quorum on Tuesday and postponed to September 23 — ironically the customary inauguration day for Lebanese presidents — their next convocation to elect a head-of-state.

Given the current deadlock, it was difficult to see whether an election was even possible, although the March 14 alliance formally declared that it was ready to agree on a consensual candidate if certain conditions were met.

While alliance members maintained their support to the Lebanese Forces (LF) leader, Samir Geagea, the head of the Future Movement, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and LF deputy George Adwan declared that they were willing to look at an alternative. “Out of its keenness to hold the presidential elections without further delays,” Siniora told reporters, “The March 14 alliance calls for the respect of constitutional deadlines and the rotation of power.”

He expressed the group’s “full readiness to discuss with the rest of the factions the name of a person who receives the backing of all the Lebanese and who is committed to the country’s principles,” someone who would presumably apply the Taif Accords. Both men believed that rival parties were capable of putting differences aside although this was highly optimistic.

After the announcement of this latest March 14 initiative, Geagea stressed that he had previously expressed his readiness to withdraw his candidacy, if the alliance preferred an alternative contender.

“I have never said either me or no one else,” Geagea told correspondents gathered at his residence in Maarab, which is the allegation attributed to the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader, General Michel Aoun.

The FPM bloc, along with the majority of the March 8 alliance deputies boycotted today’s session, the 10th since the April 23 convocation. Aoun insisted that there should be a prior agreement on a compromise candidate before heading to the polls although the ten absences were clearly meant to deny a Geagea election.

Against a plethora of threats emanating from extremist forces that endangered the country and raised the prospects of additional violence, the vacancy at the top of state was increasingly perceived as a gargantuan error, though few politicians shared the urgency.

Observers believed that this latest initiative was probably prompted by the realisation that tension required swift attention, although no names were mentioned as to who might be the ideal alternative.