Lawmakers in crisis-hit Lebanon on Wednesday failed for the 12th time to elect a new president, as bitter divisions between Hezbollah and its opponents marred the vote.

Candidates Jihad Azour and Suleiman Franjieh both failed to get across the line, with Azour garnering 59 votes and Frangieh 51 in the 128-seat parliament.

MPs Elias Jradeh, Halima Qaaqour and Cynthia Zarazir of the Change bloc and MPs Osama Saad, Abdul Rahman al-Bizri and Charbel Masaad of the Sidon-Jezzine bloc announced prior to Wednesday’s presidential election session that they would not vote for the candidates of the “sectarian parties.”

In a statement, the lawmakers said they would only vote for a candidate who supports the independence of the judiciary and backs holding corrupts accountable and resuming the probe into the Beirut port blast.

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will discuss with President Emmanuel Macron on Friday the Lebanese file, local media reports said Wednesday.

The meeting takes place after Lebanese MPs failed again Wednesday to elect a president amid a chaotic session that ended with a missing vote and a lack of quorum for the second round.

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland held phone talks with Speaker Nabih Berri on the eve of Lebanon’s 12th presidential election session.

“Had a constructive call with Lebanese Speaker Berri about the urgency of electing a president and enacting legislation on critically needed IMF reforms,” Nuland said in a tweet.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Tuesday stressed that the FPM is “outside any domestic or foreign alignment” and “not part of an axis,” on the eve of a heated presidential election session.

The Co-Chairs of the U.S.-Lebanon Friendship Caucus in the U.S. Congress -- Representatives Darrell Issa, Darrin LaHood and Debbie Dingell -- have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding Lebanon’s stalled presidential election.

To help vulnerable Lebanese "continue to put food on the table and access medical care," the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is providing more than $17.4 million in additional humanitarian assistance to the people of Lebanon via the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) and two non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the U.S. Embassy said.

"As staple food and fuel prices rise and livelihoods erode, Lebanon’s deepening economic crisis continues to generate humanitarian needs by decreasing vulnerable populations’ purchasing power, and restricting access to healthcare," the Embassy said in a statement.

A toy hand grenade was found Tuesday near MP Nadim Gemayel’s residence in Ashrafieh, a day before a heated presidential election session.

“A security expert examined the suspicious item near MP Nadim Gemayel’s home and it turned out to be a toy grenade containing no explosive material,” a security source told LBCI television.

MPs Paula Yacoubian and Najat Aoun Saliba of the Change parliamentary bloc on Tuesday announced that they will vote for ex-minister Jihad Azour in Wednesday’s presidential election session.

“Political realism obliges us to take the best decision and a dream president does not exist until today, that’s why we have decided to declare our support for Jihad Azour and we will hold him accountable should he be elected,” Yacoubian said at a press conference.

Outgoing Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri seem to maintain a strong friendship, despite political differences.

"Nothing can affect my relation with Berri," Jumblat told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Tuesday. On the same day, Berri told al-Akhbar