Lebanon's parliament failed to elect a new president after the first round of voting on Thursday amid deep divisions over a replacement for Michel Aoun, whose term expires next month. 

Most of the lawmakers cast blank ballots, suggesting that the election process is likely to drag on.

Speaker Nabih Berri said he would call a new session of parliament "when an agreement is reached on the next president," a process that could take months in a country where constitutional deadlines are routinely missed.