The Parliament chambers were empty on Aug. 17, 2023, after a legislative session failed to take place due to a lack of quorum. (Credit: Nabil Ismail)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese parliamentary session that was scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday to consider, among other things, a capital control law was postponed for lack of a quorum when several deputies, notably from Christian parties, boycotted the session.
These parties continue to boycott any parliamentary session devoted to legislation in the absence of a president. They point to the Lebanse constitution, which mandates that Parliament act solely as an electoral college until a new Head of State is elected.
At around 11:15 a.m., the 53 MPs arrived for the session left the premises after it was established that there was no quorum, the state-run National News Agency reported.
No date for a new legislative session has yet been set.
Lebanon has been without a president since October 31, 2022, when Michel Aoun's term of office came to an end. Since then, Parliament has held 12 unsuccessful electoral sessions in the absence of the customary broad political agreement.
On Thursday, MPs were called upon to consider several laws, including one on capital control and the creation of a sovereign wealth fund.
Banks have been imposing illegal restrictions on their customers since Lebanon's economic crisis began in 2019, limiting withdrawals and transfers. Faced with this situation, there have been growing calls to regulate these restrictions through the adoption of a capital control law.
A text was adopted in January by parliamentary committees but has yet to be voted on in a plenary session.
Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces, Gebran Bassil's Free Patriotic Movement, Samy Gemayel's Kataeb party, as well as several independent MPs, announced their refusal to attend Thursday's session.
'Urgent matters'
A meeting nevertheless took place between House Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Parliament before 11 a.m., the NNA reported.
Following his meeting with Berri, Mikati criticized those who "say they only come to Parliament to legislate on urgent matters. Is there any greater urgency than the draft laws on today's agenda?"
These criticisms appeared to be aimed at Gebran Bassil's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), which only attends certain parliamentary sessions.
"Numerous pieces of legislation are currently before Parliament concerning the recovery plan and bank restructuring ... If Parliament does not meet to adopt them in a short span of time, the country will not be able to achieve economic stability," Mikati warned.
FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan, chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee, criticized "those who want to hasten the adoption" of a sovereign wealth fund. He pointed out that a first draft had already made its way through Parliament in 2017.
Depositors demonstrate
In parallel with the scheduled parliamentary session, dozens of demonstrators gathered near the Parliament building in response to a call from the "The Cry of the Depositors" collective. Their aim was to block the arrival of parliamentarians.
In recent months, the country has seen a wave of bank holdups in which depositors, sometimes armed, have broken into bank branches to claim their own funds.
