Berri: Efforts to reach a consensus president are "on hold"

The Lebanese parliament fails to elect a president for the third time

The parliament session was held in the presence of 110 deputies out of 128 deputies.

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The Lebanese parliament failed for the third time yesterday, to elect a new president of the republic, because no candidate could obtain two-thirds of the votes of the deputies.

The third parliamentary session was launched to elect a President of the Republic in Lebanon, headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

The session was held after the presence of 110 deputies out of 128 deputies, bearing in mind that the session requires the presence of 86 deputies.

Berri said that Representative Michel Moawad obtained 42 votes against 55 blank papers, 17 papers on which "New Lebanon" was written, one vote for Boumelhab's birth, and four papers canceled, calling for a new session next Monday, October 24.

Several deputies had stressed the need for agreement and understanding on a candidate to be able to elect a new president, given that no party has a parliamentary majority.

Parliament's failure to agree on a candidate so far indicates that the electoral process may take a long time, which further complicates the situation in a country mired in a severe financial crisis and where constitutional deadlines are rarely respected.

MP Sami Gemayel, head of the Kataeb Party, told reporters in parliament, "We are still working to unify the opposition's ranks around one name, but we are facing difficulties, and we hope to close ranks in the coming days, with the due date approaching on the 31st of the month."

For his part, MP Hassan Fadlallah said, "So far, there is no consensus, and there is no comprehensive dialogue between the different blocs in the first place... Therefore, the scenes we see will be repeated."

He has previously vacated the post of president several times since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Anticipating another vacuum, politicians intensified their efforts to agree on a new government headed by Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati, who is currently serving as the caretaker prime minister.

The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, stated that the horizon is blocked in the face of electing a President of the Republic, indicating that he intends to call for close sessions in case the session fails.

Berri said, in a press statement, that the efforts to reach a consensual president are "on hold", explaining his specifications for the prospective president, which are "simple and clear, but essential."

He pointed out that he wants a president who "brings together and does not differentiate, has an Islamic and Christian significance, has openness to the Arab world, and most importantly preserves the Taif Agreement," which Berri describes as "Lebanon's unimplemented constitution."

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