MPs count votes during the tenth parliamentary session dedicated to electing a new President for Lebanon on Dec. 15, 2022. (Credit: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament)
BEIRUT — Hezbollah's parliamentary group reiterated Thursday that electing a new Lebanese president requires dialogue between the country's different political forces after a tenth parliamentary session failed to elect a successor to Michel Aoun.
"The election of a president is a national deadline par excellence," Hezbollah's bloc said in a statement issued following its weekly meeting. "Only a national agreement" will allow for the election of a new president, the bloc stressed, insisting on the "need for dialogue between the different local parties."
Thursday's parliamentary session was 2022's last. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was expected to convert this meeting into a dialogue session in order to reach a consensus on a presidential candidate, but his initiative did not materialize because the main Christian parties — the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) — refused to participate.
As in previous weeks, Berri adjourned the morning session as soon as the first round of votes were counted, while several MPs — particularly those affiliated with the Amal Movement, Hezbollah and the FPM — left the chamber.
No new session has yet been scheduled.