''The formation of a new Cabinet has been delayed by differences over an election law and the interior portfolio," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Later yesterday, Karami met Lahoud, but the official played down the significance of that meeting, saying it ''does not mean the stage has been set for the formation of a Cabinet."
Lebanon has been without a government since Feb. 28, when anti-Syrian protests prompted Karami and his Cabinet to resign. Karami later agreed to form a new Cabinet to organize the election.
The opposition, which is favored to win a majority in the elections, has accused the pro-Syrian Karami and his parliamentary allies of stalling the formation of a government in a bid to extend the life of the Legislature.
Syria has committed to withdrawing its remaining intelligence officials and 8,000 troops from Lebanon by April 30, a pullout the United States and the UN secretary-general have insisted on for the elections to be free and fair.
A convoy of about 150 Syrian soldiers, with 15 tanks on flatbed trucks, evacuated their position near Khiyara village in the eastern Bekaa Valley yesterday, residents said. They said the convoy headed east toward Syria.
Explaining the delay in forming a government, the official said there were serious differences over the electoral bill presented to Parliament before the Feb. 14 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on a Beirut street. The bill proposed small electoral districts, which are seen as favoring the Christian community of the opposition.
''That draft law seems now in jeopardy," the official said.
Although the outgoing government of Karami proposed the bill, the prime minister-designate has now shifted toward large electoral districts.
