Allies of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shia Arab, had said the vote would only go ahead once a deal was struck between the main blocs on the nominees for the positions of Speaker, president and prime minister, which traditionally go to a Sunni Arab, a Kurd and a Shia Arab respectively.
The job went to David Ford, leader of the centrist Alliance Party, who drew the support of the two main blocs in the power-sharing government -- Sinn Fein, the republican group, and the Democratic Unionists.
FDI continues to circulate between the three main blocs of "the Triad" (Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia), leaving most of the world population excluded.
The outcome of the election, which comes amid a deep recession and tough austerity measures, was so close between the two main blocs that the margin of victory given in interior ministry figures was less than 1% in both houses of parliament.
The origins of the presidential crisis stem from the deep ideological divisions between the two main blocs in parliament: The March 8th Alliance, which endorses Michel Aoun as their presidential candidate and the March 14th Alliance which endorses Samir Geagea.
There are two main blocs competing in the election.
Olmert gave an interview to Israel's Channel 2 making it plain that, like Sharon, he planned to close dozens of smaller settlements on the West Bank but retain the main blocs of Ariel, Gush Etzion, and Ma'ale Adumim.
Broadly speaking the parties can be divided into two main blocs: a red bloc on the left of the political spectrum, and a blue bloc to the right of centre.
With the relative balance between the two main blocs of political parties from which a coalition might be formed still so close, the last four days of the campaign are regarded as crucial, not least in an electorate where perhaps upwards of 20% of voters are expected to decided who they will back during this period.
