Beirut - Lebanese streets were tense and brimming with rumours on the eve of a possible Parliament vote on a new president to take office. Pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term ends Friday, and rival Lebanese leaders are trying to reach a consensus for a candidate who will satisfy both the pro-Syrian opposition, headed by Shiite Muslim militant party Hezbollah, and the Western-backed ruling majority, which is anti-Syrian.
"The Lebanese are in total despair and full of fear, " said political analyst George Alam.
With the clock ticking for a Friday session of Parliament, Lebanese feel that their country is at a crossroad.
"Either we elect a president or face the unknown," a shop owner in one of Beirut's fashionable streets told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
The general feeling in the capital is that the leaders cannot reach an agreement to elect a president on Friday.
The political clash in Lebanon has prompted European and Arab envoys to come to Beirut to try to mediate, and locals are debating whether Friday's deadline could be a spark for renewed civil war.
Lebanon's feuding political leaders and foreign envoys, led by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, are engaged in intense, last-minute negotiations to secure a compromise on a presidential candidate.
The Parliament session to vote on a replacement for Lahoud has already been postponed four times for lack of agreement between the ruling majority and the opposition, which is backed by Syria and Iran.
Friday's scheduled vote in Parliament is seen as a last ditch- attempt to avert a full blown crisis that could tear Lebanon apart.
"No one wants war. The idea is very, very scary," said a Christian student close to Christian anti-Syrian politician Samir Geagea.
"Neither the opposition nor the majority want it, but the sides have realized that there is a potential for the violence on the streets," said Druze Leila Saab, who is loyal to Druze politician Walid Jumblatt, an anti-Syrian leader. "Violence in Beirut showed that it can quickly erupt and can turn into a wildfire very easily."
A student clash broke out in January when a scuffle in the cafeteria of Beirut Arab University between Sunni Muslims loyal to the ruling majority and Hezbollah supporters escalated into street battles in which three people were killed and dozens wounded.
Jumblatt, one of the country's most vocal critics of Syrian influence in Lebanon, urged compromise on the presidential issue to avert bloodshed.
"My advice to everyone ... is to protect civil peace in Lebanon, which requires everyone to make concessions," he said.
Even the leader of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said earlier this month, "We don't want a civil war. If the stalemate continues for a while - until a solution is found or we go to a civil war - then let the stalemate continue."
Lahoud, in a televised speech ahead of Thursday's Lebanese Independence Day, called on people to work "on preserving the unity and stability of Lebanon," and stated his hope that a consensus is reached before his term ends.
Lahoud made no reference to his previous warnings that he could name General Michel Sleiman, chief of Lebanon's armed forces, to head a provisional government if no agreement is reached on a new president.
The Lebanese presidency wields little power, and the current standoff is widely seen as an extension of the regional confrontation pitting the United States and key ally Saudi Arabia against Iran and Syria.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora's government has been paralysed since the opposition withdrew its six pro-Syrian ministers from the cabinet in November 2006, in a bid to demand a national unity government with veto power for the pro-Syrian bloc.
Despite assurances from leaders from both camps, fears are running high among Lebanese that failure to meet Friday's deadline could spur the formation of two governments, a grim reminder of the end of Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, when two competing administrations battled it out.
"We are afraid about the future of the country. We have still one hopeful sign, which is the army to protect us," Sami Hadad, a Christian student loyal to opposition leader Michel Aoun, a close Christian ally of Hezbollah.
The Lebanese army is the only government institution that is still united and has avoided the political divisions engulfing the country.
Political analysts including British writer Robert Fisk do not think that a civil war will erupt so long as the army remains united.
"The Lebanese have grown mature after their long war years," Fisk said.
Christian moderate Sandra Hadshiti said: "The Lebanese after 16 years of civil war have become more aware of the consequences of civil wars. But wars can easily be created by irresponsible leaders who cannot put their interests away and think of their nation and people."
