The Maronite bishops synod reiterated on Thursday Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's stance regarding the ongoing presidential vacuum, considering that the delay in electing a new head of state violates the constitution and the national pact.

“The absence of the head of state poses a threat to the country,” the synod said after its annual retreat.

The defense team of Hizbullah member Hassan Merhi told the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Thursday that it should not rush the trial in ex-PM Rafik Hariri's assassination before giving it the adequate time to prepare for the proceedings.

The lead counsel said on the second day of the trial's resumption that Merhi's lawyers are unable to develop a detailed line of defense because the trial started in a staggered manner.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat reiterated on Thursday his support for the nomination of MP Henri Helou for the presidency, saying that he acts as a moderate figure when compared to other nominees, reported the Egyptian daily al-Ahram.

He told the daily: “We will not withdraw Helou's nomination for the sake of others regardless of what agreements are made. This is democracy.”

The parliament once again failed on Thursday in approving the controversial pay hike for the public sector as the Syndicate Coordination Committee warned officials not to politicize the wage scale.

But Speaker Nabih Berri decided to keep the legislative sessions open-ended.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam called on officials on Wednesday to facilitate the election of a new president, stressing any attempts to tamper with the country's stability will be thwarted.

“The country is passing through a state of vacuum over the parliament's failure to elect a new head of state,” Salam said during his opening speech for the Arab Economic Forum held at Phoenicia InterContinental Hotel.

The municipal chief of the northern town of Zgharta died on Thursday in a horrific car crash in Beirut, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Engineer Toufiq Moawad was driving his black Audi Q7 on the Karantina highway at 4:45 am when he rear-ended a truck parked on the side of the road, the Beirut firefighting department said.

U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman expressed concern over the ongoing presidential deadlock in Lebanon, ruling out that the country would witness a prolonged vacuum similar to 2008.

“The continuation of constitutional institutions (in Lebanon) is a key issue in maintaining stability, security and unity in Lebanon,” Feltman told An Nahar newspaper.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam is expected to call for a cabinet session next week if his consultations with the factions represented in the government led to a deal on the mechanism they would adopt to exercise full executive powers, officials said.

The officials, who are close to Salam, told al-Mustaqbal newspaper published on Thursday that a session was not held this week because of lack of agreement on the mechanism and the PM's planned trip to Kuwait over the weekend.

Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh on Wednesday announced that any candidate must enjoy Syrian President Bashar Assad's approval to be elected a president in Lebanon, noting that the embattled Syrian leader would be “pleased” if Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun manages to reach the Baabda Palace.

“No president can be elected in Lebanon without Bashar Assad's consent,” Franjieh underlined during an interview with NBN television.

One person was killed and three others were wounded on Wednesday afternoon when the wall of an old building collapsed in the Beirut region of Ashrafieh.

Internal Security Forces announced on its account on the social media website Twitter that the wall of an old building collapsed on four Syrian workers during the demolition of the structure.