Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri during a parliament meeting to elect a successor to President Michel Aoun, October 13, 2022. (Credit: Ali Fawaz/Lebanese Parliament)
BEIRUT — Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Thursday that he will call for consecutive parliamentary sessions if MPs fail Thursday to elect a successor to President Michel Aoun, whose term expires Oct. 31.
Thursday's session will be the third since the election period opened on Sept. 1.
"I did my duty by convening Parliament. If today's session fails, I intend to call the MPs to consecutive sessions," Berri told the pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat. However, he did not specify dates for these sessions.
According to the Parliament Speaker, attempts to elect a consensus president are "at a standstill." Berri said that the "characteristics of the [next] president are simple and clear, but essential."
"He must bring together and not divide, have Christian and Muslim support, be open to the Arab world, and the most important thing is that he preserves the Taif Agreement," Berri said.
Lebanese MPs failed, for the second time, to elect a president last Thursday, increasing fears of a total vacancy in the executive branch. The current caretaker government of Najib Mikati has been running current affairs since May, following the parliamentary elections.
A new cabinet has not yet been formed.