Ahmed Murad (Beirut, Cairo)
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called for the 11th session devoted to electing a president for the republic, to be held tomorrow, Thursday.
A statement issued by Berri’s media office said that he had called for the meeting to be held at 11 a.m. tomorrow to elect a president.
This will be the first meeting in the new year after the holidays.
On December 15, the Lebanese parliament failed, for the tenth time since September, to elect a president to succeed Michel Aoun, whose term ended on October 31.
Parliamentary blocs accuse the deputies of the terrorist “Hezbollah” militia and its allies of obstructing the election of the president by voting with white papers in the first round, then withdrawing so that the quorum for the second round is not completed.
The Lebanese political analyst, Asaad Bishara, explained that the previous parliamentary sessions did not complete the quorum for electing the new president, and therefore it became clear that a certain party, the terrorist “Hezbollah” militia, is withdrawing from the sessions, disrupting the process of electing the president, and extorting other political forces until the person is elected. that he wants.
105 deputies participated in the ninth parliamentary session devoted to electing the president, which is the lowest number of attendees since the start of the sessions on September 29. The quorum for a second round of polling was not completed after a number of deputies left the parliament hall. As for the tenth session, 109 deputies participated in the first round. While the second round lost its quorum, as there were only 71 deputies, after a number of deputies left the parliament hall, and this scene will continue as long as “Hezbollah” decides to disrupt the process of electing the president.
Bishara demanded Arab and international pressure on Hezbollah in order to complete the presidential election, especially after Lebanon became idle in all its institutions, including the presidency, the government, and the parliament, which leads to deepening the political and economic collapse.
For his part, political analyst Ahmed Ayyash explained that Lebanon is going through a very difficult stage in order to elect a new president, and it seems that the fate of the 11th parliamentary session will be doomed to failure like the previous ones, as no political conditions have arisen that allow for its success, in light of the inability to secure the necessary votes to achieve Quorum for the session.
According to Article 49 of the Constitution, the election of the President of the Republic is conducted by the House of Representatives, which has 128 members, and the election takes place through secret balloting by a two-thirds majority of the members of the House in the first session, while an absolute majority will suffice in the following polling sessions.
The Lebanese political analyst stated that all the data and evidence indicate that Lebanon is going through a vicious circle that led to negative results. Until this moment, the name on which the various political blocs could agree has not emerged.
Ayyash confirmed that there is an existing problem related to finding a president who is approved by Hezbollah specifically, and approved by others, and herein lies the problem, and the urgent question: “Is it possible for a name to appear approved by (Hezbollah) and other political forces?” He said: Certainly, the answer is: “No,” especially during this stage.
He said, “(Hezbollah) wants a president who fits into its project, which includes the continuation of carrying arms, and the continuation of its armed work, as was the case with former President Michel Aoun, who throughout his presidential term covered (Hezbollah’s) weapons, which is something that other political forces reject. It calls for the necessity of returning sovereignty to the Lebanese state.
He added, “We are facing a difficult phase that may be prolonged, and we do not know when it will end, and there is no indication on the near horizon of the election of a new president for the Lebanese Republic.”
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