As 46th vote looms, Lebanon looks poised to get a new president

Lebanon’s lengthy impasse over electing a new president appears to be almost over after Saad Hariri, a former prime minister, made a bold and politically risky decision to support a political rival for the top seat. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014, when the last incumbent, Michel Suleiman, stepped down at the end of his six-year term. The 128-seat parliament, which elects presidents, has convened 45 times over the past 2-1/2 years, but has always failed to reach a quorum due to a boycott by the parliamentary coalition that includes Mr. Hariri's rival, Michel Aoun, and is headed by the powerful Shiite Hezbollah organization.