Updated

The Albanian Parliament has failed for the third time to elect the country's new president because no candidates have been nominated.

The governing left-wing coalition didn't put up any candidates on Thursday, saying it wants to include the center-right opposition in reaching a broader consensus. The same thing happened twice last week.

But the Socialist Party says Parliament shouldn't wait any longer to elect a new president since the opposition has refused to participate in any dialogue.

Albania's president occupies a largely ceremonial role and is limited to two 5-year terms. Candidates are proposed by a group of at least 20 lawmakers in the 140-seat Parliament.

Now that there have been three failed rounds, a candidate can be elected by a simple majority.