Lebanese Parliament in session April 18, 2023. (Credit: Nabil Ismail)
BEIRUT — Forces of Change MPs, the Lebanese Forces and some independent deputies will boycott the legislative session scheduled for Monday, amid a months-long presidential vacuum, a number of MPs confirmed to L'Orient Today Sunday.
Paula Yaacoubian, member of the Forces of Change bloc — which is currently divided by internal disputes — told L'Orient Today that the reason for this boycott is the same as that of previous parliamentary sessions: Parliament should be electing a president rather than passing legislation. She said Change MPs Melhem Khalaf, Najat Saliba, Yassine Yassine, Firas Hamdan, Mark Daou, Wadah Sadek, Michel Douaihy will boycott this session.
Lebanese Forces spokesperson Charles Jabbour confirmed to L'Orient Today that the party is boycotting the session. The reason, he said, is that Parliament is currently a presidential electoral body, not a legislative one.
A spokesperson for the Free Patriotic Movement told L'Orient Today that the group has yet to make a decision regarding Monday's session.
Parliament's Monday session has been scheduled to vote on opening lines of credit to cover certain additional expenses, including temporary financial compensation for public servants and financial incentives for teachers at the state-owned Lebanese University.
In February, 46 MPs issued a statement declaring they would boycott all forthcoming legislative sessions held during the presidential vacuum; in the absence of a head of state, such meetings would “violate the constitution."
Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun left office on October 31, 2022. Twelve presidential election sessions failed so far in Parliament due to deep political differences among legislators.
Despite the boycott announcement, Parliament met in April and extended the mandates of the country's municipal councils and mukhtars, an extension that is valid for a maximum of one year.