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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Dozens protest in Beirut in solidarity with MPs who slept in Parliament

Dozens protest in Beirut in solidarity with MPs who slept in Parliament

Dozens of people protesting in front of Parliament in downtown Beirut, Jan. 20, 2023. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)

BEIRUT — Dozens of people protested Friday in front of Parliament in downtown Beirut to show solidarity with Forces of Change MPs Najat Aoun Saliba and Melhem Khalaf, who slept overnight inside the legislature to demand the election of a new president.

Protesters also closed Weygand Street near the Parliament building, L'Orient Today's photographer in the area reported.

As in previous sessions, MPs failed in their 11th presidential election session on Thursday to elect a new head of state. MPs Saliba and Khalaf remained in Parliament after the failed vote, announcing the beginning of their sit-in.

"We slept here, and we hope that this day will bring new hope for Lebanon," Saliba said in a video posted on social networks Friday morning.

Also on Friday, Forces of Change MP Paula Yacoubian called on people to join MPs in front of Parliament. "Change MPs will stay in Parliament in spite of the darkness. Vacuum is the primary candidate today for the ruling class while Parliament is obstructing the [Aug. 4, 2020 port] investigation," Yacoubian tweeted.

The port investigation has been suspended for more than a year due to numerous requests filed against lead judge Tarek Bitar by senior politicians indicted in the case.

Last week, families of the blast victims had a confrontation with security forces while protesting against the delays in front of Beirut's Justice Palace. Some of them were summoned for investigation on Monday as a result. 

"We are here to elect a president as dictated by the constitution," protester Camille Mourani told L'Orient-Today in front of Parliament Friday. Mourani added that "some are taking quorum as an excuse, and are doing that to obstruct the constitutional institutions to benefit Hezbollah ... All the parliamentary blocs should name their candidates. There are blocs that do not vote for any candidate and get out of the session in the second [electoral] round."

During the 11 parliamentary sessions, Amal, Hezbollah and Free Patriotic Movement MPs have mostly cast blank ballots in the first round of voting, which demands a two-thirds majority. They have also consistently withdrawn from the second round of voting, leading to a loss of quorum. 

Another protester, Darine Dandashli, told L'Orient Today that "today we are here to show solidarity to the MPs. When they do their jobs they call them boastful, and when they don't, they accuse them of not doing their jobs. Today the constitution says that Parliament becomes an election committee until a president is elected and this is what they are doing." 

For the first time in its history, Lebanon lacks both a president and a fully empowered cabinet amid the worst economic crisis in recent memory. 

Additional reporting by Mohammad Yassine.

BEIRUT — Dozens of people protested Friday in front of Parliament in downtown Beirut to show solidarity with Forces of Change MPs Najat Aoun Saliba and Melhem Khalaf, who slept overnight inside the legislature to demand the election of a new president.Protesters also closed Weygand Street near the Parliament building, L'Orient Today's photographer in the area reported.As in previous sessions,...