Lebanon parliament fails for fifth time to elect president

The Lebanese parliament yesterday failed, for the fifth time, to elect a new president for the country,m.

Independent lawmaker, Michel Moawad, was the frontrunner with 44 votes in yesterday’s session, however, he fell short of the two-thirds majority or 86 votes needed to win.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has set next Thursday as the date for a new session to elect a president.

The parliament’s failure to elect a president may further complicate the situation in a country mired in a stifling economic crisis, and where constitutional deadlines are rarely respected.

“Each party is accusing the other of obstruction,” said MP Elias Bou Saab, deputy parliament speaker of the Free Patriotic Movement bloc, in an interview with AFP.

“The crisis is that each party wants their own candidate. They should think in a different way and reach an understanding regarding a name which is accepted by at least two-thirds of the council,” he added.

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

Aoun, himself, was elected after the seat of president was vacant for 29 months between 2014-2016. He became the country’s 13th president.

Aoun held the seat for a six-year term from 31 October 2016 to 30 October 2022. He has presided over the country during an economic crisis which  the World Bank has said is one of the world’s worst in centuries and the Beirut Port blast which left the city devastated and limited Lebanon’s ability to import.

For his part, the Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, said that the presidency should not remain vacant, because it disrupts constitutional life and impedes the country’s recovery.

Speaking during an event in the capital, Beirut, Mikati said obstructors “openly seek to paralyse the government”, which impacts the country and citizens.

Mikati called on all political forces to “elect a new president and form a new government, in a speedy manner that protects the country and preserves the state.

Mikati confirmed an earlier report by Reuters, that Lebanon can still conclude an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, worth $3 billion, despite the absence of a president or a government with full powers.

Since 2019, Lebanon has been experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis, which led to a record collapse in the value of the Lebanese lira against the US dollar, as well as a shortage of fuel and medicine, and a sharp decline in the citizens’ purchasing power.

According to Article 49 of the Constitution, the president – who must a Christian Maronite – is elected in the first voting cycle by a two-thirds majority, or 86 votes.