Arab League urges Lebanon to agree on new president

Arab League Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, on Tuesday called on Lebanese politicians to reach a consensus on electing a new president, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, left office on Monday after his six-year term expired, with lawmakers failing to agree on a new president.

Aboul Gheit met Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, in Algeria on the sidelines of the 31st Arab Summit.

The meeting took up the latest development in Lebanon, his spokesman, Jamal Rushdie, said.

The Arab League Chief warned that a long presidential vacuum in Lebanon would have negative repercussions on the country, the spokesman added.

The current presidential vacancy in Lebanon is the fourth since the country’s independence from French colonialism in 1943.

According to the Lebanese Constitution, the government assumes the authority of the country’s president in case of a failure to elect a new president.

Lebanon has already been without a fully functioning government since May.

OPINION: What happens now that Lebanon is without a president?