Parliament Speaker and Amal Movement leader Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Aug. 31, 2023. (Credit: AFP/File photo)
BEIRUT — House Speaker, Nabih Berri, has called for a parliamentary session next Tuesday at 11 a.m. to elect two secretaries and three commissioners for parliamentary committees, L'Orient Today's correspondent reported Thursday.
Lebanon has been without a head of state since Oct. 31, 2022, following the end of Michel Aoun's term. According to the Lebanese constitution, before the president of the republic is replaced, Parliament should only convene as an electoral college to choose a new head of state. Berri has interpreted this constitutional provision in a way that allows him to convene Parliament and legislate on so-called urgent matters, which he terms "legislation of necessity," a concept criticized by many legal experts and politicians as being contrary to the constitution.
Twelve parliamentary sessions have been dedicated to the election of a new president since September 2022, but all have ended in failure due to a lack of political consensus.
Reporting contributed by Hoda Chedid