Lebanon’s parliament fails to elect president for 30th time

Lebanon’s parliament on Wednesday failed to elect a new president for the country for the 30th time after missing the required quota for MPs, AlKhaleejonline.com reported.

Parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said that the number of MPs who attended the meeting fell short of the 86 necessary to meet a quorum for holding the vote. He announced 11 November as the time of the next parliament meeting to vote on choosing a new president.

Former President Michel Suleiman’s term ended on 25 May of last year. Since then, Lebanon’s 128-seat parliament has been unable to muster the MPs necessary to elect a new president.

Since April of last year, representatives from both Hezbollah and Michel Aoun’s “Change and Reform” bloc have boycotted successive assembly sessions, thus ensuring that the quorum is not reached.

According to the country’s constitution, one third of the assembly – equivalent to 86 MPs – must be present in order to hold a first-round vote.