Aoun and Salam call for extraordinary session of parliament

BEIRUT — President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met Thursday at the Baabda Palace and agreed to issue a decree opening an extraordinary session of Parliament, the Lebanese presidency announced on X. According to the signed decree, Parliament is convened from June 5, 2025, until Oct. 20, 2025.

“The meeting between the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister focused on the issue of appointments, as well as the situation in the South, the extension of the UNIFIL mandate [the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon], and the revitalization of government operations. It was agreed to issue a decree opening an extraordinary session of Parliament,” the presidency specified.

According to article 32 of the Lebanese Constitution, Parliament meets each year in two ordinary sessions. Article 33 provides that an extraordinary session can be convened by a decree of the President of the Republic, with the agreement of the Prime Minister. This decree sets the opening date, duration, and agenda.

The agenda

On the session's agenda are: “the laws already ratified for which the President of the Republic requests a review, as well as the draft laws submitted to Parliament and those that will be submitted; urgent, necessary, and priority draft laws on the critical socio-economic situation and the essential reforms, including the draft law on reform and reorganization of the banking sector in Lebanon.”

Also on the agenda are “urgent and necessary legislative proposals, notably the proposal to amend the law defining the conditions for regaining Lebanese nationality,” as well as “all other draft laws, proposals, and texts that the Parliament office will decide to submit to the session.”

It is worth recalling that the families of the victims of the deadly explosion on Aug. 4, 2020, in the Beirut port warned on Wednesday against a possible parliamentary maneuver to grant immunity to the deputies being pursued in this tragedy. On the 58th month of their mobilization, the families urged Aoun and Salam to prevent the opening of an extraordinary parliamentary session before June 13, the date scheduled to question the accused MP Ghazi Zeaiter before the judicial investigator, Tarek Bitar.

On the occasion of the Adha holiday, President Aoun sent a message to the Lebanese people. “This holiday calls on all of us, Muslims and Christians, to demonstrate a spirit of sacrifice and selflessness for our dear homeland, Lebanon, especially since this year it coincides with serious challenges our country is facing, which require us to stand united, driven by a firm will and unwavering determination to elevate Lebanon towards a better future,” he declared.

He also called on the Lebanese to overcome their “differences in the name of supreme national interest” and to remain committed “to the values of tolerance, brotherhood, and solidarity.” “Lebanon, this country-message, today more than ever, needs the unity and cohesion of its children to build a future worthy of its history and civilization,” he added.