Forces of Change MPs stand among demonstrators during the third anniversary of the Oct.17 nationwide protests. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Forces of Change MP Najat Aoun Saliba on Monday participated alongside dozens of people gathered in Martyrs' Square in Downtown Beirut in the third anniversary of the Oct. 17, 2019 nationwide protests in Lebanon.
"I think there are very few people here because of the economic crisis. Politics are not only played in the street, but also in the institutions and in the Parliament," Saliba told L'Orient Today's reporter on the ground. "It would be great if the street could push for the presidential election to be held because we don't want a vacancy in the Executive power," she added.
Lebanese parliamentarians only have two weeks left to elect a successor to President Michel Aoun before his term expires on Oct. 31. In the first election session of Parliament on Sept. 29, MPs failed to elect a new president due to the lack of consensus among the different political parties and more then half of the ballots going towards protest votes. A second session, held last week, was adjourned to this Thursday due to a lack of quorum.
The collectives from the protest movement have announced a second mobilization for this Thursday, in parallel with the third session of Parliament devoted to the presidential election.
On Oct. 17, 2019, an unprecedented revolt movement emerged in Lebanon, denouncing the ruling political class. The protests throughout Lebanon lasted several months, with clashes breaking out by security forces, who responded to the mostly peaceful protests with tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons, physical force, and at times, live bullets. During the commemoration of the revolution in 2021, protests were also rather light in Beirut.
Meanwhile, the country continues to undergo an economic collapse while 80 percent of the population now lives in poverty, according to UN figures.
Additional reporting by Lyana Alameddine