After 722 days of sit-in, MP Melhem Khalaf leaves Parliament (with his suitcases)

Change MP Melhem Khalaf had vowed to continue his sit-in at the Lebanese Parliament until a new president was elected. After Lebanon had been without a president since Oct. 31, 2022 — the date Michel Aoun's term ended — Army Commander Gen. Joseph Aoun was finally elected on Thursday.

After 722 days of sit-in, Khalaf was seen leaving Parliament, carrying suitcases. Accompanied by other MPs from the Oct. 7, 2019, protest movement, he wore a scarf in the colors of the Lebanese flag around his neck.

Khalaf and fellow change MP Najat Saliba began their sit-in together on Jan. 19, 2023, following the failure of yet another parliamentary session to elect a president, aiming to pressure MPs into ending the stalemate. Saliba ended her sit-in after eight months.

Gen. Joseph Aoun secured 99 votes out of 128 in Parliament during a second round of voting on Thursday afternoon. In the first round that morning, he had received only 71 votes, with Hezbollah’s 30 MPs and their ally, the Amal Movement, casting blank ballots. However, a meeting in Parliament between representatives of these two factions and the army commander between the two rounds shifted the outcome.

Aoun’s candidacy was backed by the United States and Saudi Arabia, two regional heavyweights. Ambassadors from several countries, as well as French envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian, attended the parliamentary session. Diplomatic pressure intensified on political forces to rally behind the army chief.

Après 722 jours de sit-in, le député Melhem Khalaf quitte le Parlement avec...ses valises