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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Parliament to convene for election session on Thursday

Parliament to convene for election session on Thursday

The Lebanese Parliament during a presidential electoral session on Dec.15, 2022. (Credit: Ali Fawaz/Flickr/Lebanese Parliament)

BEIRUT — A widely expected 11th session to try electing Lebanon's next president will take place Thursday at 11 a.m., Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement Tuesday. 

The first 10 sessions were short-lived and ended after only one round of voting. Meanwhile, Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun left the post on Oct. 31. The government is serving in merely a caretaker capacity since no new cabinet was formed after May legislative elections, leaving Lebanon in the midst of an executive power vacuum.

Presidents in Lebanon are typically elected after an agreement between the different political parties. Hezbollah and its allies have so far blank ballots in most of the elections sessions, while the party unofficially supports Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh. Opposition parties and some independent MPs have voted for Zgharta MP Michel Moawad but failed to provide him with enough votes to win.

Under the Lebanese constitution, the president must be elected with 86 votes (out of 128 MPs) in the first round of voting, while an absolute majority of 65 votes is required in subsequent rounds. No second round of voting has taken place so far, as MPs from the Hezbollah camp and its allies have withdrawn from Parliament after the first round, leading to a loss of quorum each time. At each new session, Berri considers it to be a new first round of voting, with 86 votes required to elect a president. However, this maneuver is contrary to the constitution.

BEIRUT — A widely expected 11th session to try electing Lebanon's next president will take place Thursday at 11 a.m., Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement Tuesday. The first 10 sessions were short-lived and ended after only one round of voting. Meanwhile, Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun left the post on Oct. 31. The government is serving in merely a...