BEIRUT, 15 April 2005 — Lebanon slipped further into crisis as tensions mounted a day after Prime Minister Omar Karami stepped down after he failed to agree on a Cabinet with pro-Syrian allies. The crisis deepened yesterday when the caretaker Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh warned that a delay in parliamentary elections could lead to unrest, as the search for a new prime minister began with time running short to form a government and arrange a vote.

Franjieh threw the pro-Syrian allies in disarray when he said he could no longer work with President Emile Lahoud, another top ally of Damascus.

The continuing crisis in Lebanon, with the leaders still squabbling over the formation of the government, could make May elections unlikely, though Lahoud holds consultations with lawmakers today on naming a prime minister-designate to keep alive hopes that a government could be formed quickly to supervise the poll.

Political sources said among the frontrunners for the job were former minister Najib Mikatti and current minister Adnan Qassar, both wealthy businessmen who are moderate politicians having good ties with Syria but acceptable to the opposition.

The comments by Franjieh, whose ministry organizes the vote, came a day after the opposition threatened to resort to street protests to force the government to call an election. The opposition is confident of winning the vote and ending Syria’s domination of Parliament.

“I am for elections no matter what the results are, no matter whether we win or lose,” Franjieh told a news conference in his hometown of Benashei in northern Lebanon. A delay of several months could lead to uncertainty, he added. “I don’t know whether we’ll be heading toward defusing the situation. Things may become more complicated and it might lead to protests,” he warned.

His comments reflected deep divisions and bickering among pro-Syrian factions as Damascus was expected to complete the withdrawal of its army from Lebanon. Karami was unable to form a government in part because of a dispute with Franjieh over a post and the elections.

Elections are supposed to be held by May 31, when Parliament’s term runs out — but a government must be in place first to call the election. “We must have elections. If we don’t, we’re moving into the unknown. People may decide to return to the squares,” top opposition figure Walid Jumblatt said Wednesday, referring to the past two months’ protests on the main squares of Beirut. Jumblatt spoke to reporters in Strasbourg, where he met European officials.

Franjieh said he would try to find a way around rules requiring a confirmed government in place to call elections. If a Cabinet can’t be formed by the end of the month, he said he was considering seeking the advice of constitutional experts to determine whether a caretaker interior minister can call an election. “They (experts) can sit and agree and give us one opinion and I am for it,” he said.

Franjieh, a friend of Syrian President Bashar Assad, has been accused by some officials of foiling Karami’s efforts to form a government by insisting on the Health Ministry portfolio and another Cabinet post for an ally. But he strongly denied this and took a swipe at Lahoud. “I will certainly not enter another government during the term of President Emile Lahoud,” said Franjieh, who like the president is a Maronite Christian. “Every experience I’ve had with the president has led me to disappointment.”

Karami announced after his resignation on Wednesday that he was leaving a coalition of pro-Syrian politicians and groups. Political sources have said the elections could be pushed back by weeks or months by the delay in forming a government.

The Lebanese opposition, meanwhile, was holding a meeting later in the day to adopt a common stand at mandatory parliamentary consultations due to be held today by Lahoud to designate a new premier.

— With input from agencies