Lebanese MPs fail to pick new president in first vote

Lebanese policemen secure the area outside the parliament during the first ballot for a new president in downtown Beirut April 23, 2014. REUTERS/Sharif Karim

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese parliamentarians failed to elect a new president in a first round of voting on Wednesday, with leading candidate Samir Geagea falling well short of the required two-thirds majority.

Geagea's shortfall had been widely expected and is likely to open up the race to other candidates in a process which politicians have warned could drag on for months.