BEIRUT (AFP) -- The speaker of Lebanon's parliament has again postponed, this time until December 29, a session that had been set for Saturday to elect a new president, his office said on Friday night.

""Parliament speaker Nabih Berri has decided to postpone until December 29 the session that was scheduled for Saturday,"" a statement said.
Lawmakers had been due for the 10th time in three months to meet to elect a president, but some politicians and the media had said earlier in the day that the latest bid might be postponed due to continued political wrangling.
The country has been without a president since Emile Lahoud's term expired on November 23 without the two sides agreeing on a successor.
""We are not expecting the election to take place before the end of the year,"" ruling majority MP Elias Atallah told AFP.
MP Nayla Moawad said ""we are determined to seek the election of army chief Michel Sleiman, as a consensus president. We keep our hand extended toward the other party.""
But they remain at odds on how to amend the constitution to allow a senior public servant to become president, on who would lead a new government and how many cabinet seats each camp would hold.
The latest postponement comes amid what the media have termed muscle-flexing between the United States, which has declared its support for the Beirut government, and Syria.
""It is very important that Lebanon's democracy succeed. I worked with the French to get Syria out of Lebanon, and Syria needs to stay out of Lebanon. Syria needs to let the process in Lebanon work,"" Bush said.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem in turn accused Washington of blocking what he called Syrian and French efforts to end the Lebanese deadlock.
""They want the majority to monopolize the political decision-making process, instead of, as we and the French believe, all the parties being treated equally,"" he said.
The Shiite group Hezbollah accused Bush of ""using its tools"" -- the majority coalition -- to thwart attempts to reach a compromise.
""No, Bush, your orders cannot be implemented in Lebanon and your tutelage is rejected,"" Hezbollah number two Naim Kassem said on Friday.