Berri called for a new session next Thursday
The Lebanese parliament fails to elect a president for the ninth time
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called for dialogue to agree on a candidate's name.
EPA
Yesterday, the Lebanese parliament failed to elect a new president for the republic, for the ninth time, because no candidate could obtain two-thirds of the votes of the deputies.
Yesterday, the ninth parliamentary session was held to elect a president in Lebanon, headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
The session was held after the completion of the quorum, which requires the presence of 86 deputies out of the total number of deputies in the Council, which is 128 deputies.
Berri said that Representative Michel Moawad got 39 votes against 39 white papers, five votes for Issam Khalifa, and four canceled papers.
Berri, who called for dialogue to agree on a candidate's name, set a date for a new session next Thursday.
No political party has a parliamentary majority to impose its candidate.
The presidential vacuum coincides with the existence of a caretaker government headed by Najib Mikati, unable to take necessary decisions.
The presidential candidate needs to obtain the votes of two-thirds of the deputies in the 128-member parliament in the first round of voting.
Political circles are discussing more and more the name of Army Commander Joseph Aoun, whose position does not allow him to make political positions, as a settlement president, although his election requires a constitutional amendment as he is a first-class employee who cannot be elected until two years after their resignation or retirement.
The system of settlements and quotas, which exists between political and sectarian forces, usually delays important decisions, including the formation of the government or the election of a president.
Parliament's failure to elect a president so far indicates that the electoral process may take a long time, in a country where constitutional deadlines are rarely respected.
"Holding a session every week will not change anything," Alain Aoun, a representative of the Free Patriotic Movement, told local channels before entering the session.
Eight previous parliamentary sessions were held to elect a president of the republic, the last of which was last Thursday, the first of this December, and all of them failed.
It is noteworthy that the term of former President Michel Aoun ended on the 31st of last October, and Lebanon entered a stage of presidential vacancy.
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