Day after Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire, Lebanon will convene a parliamentary meeting next year to discuss electing a new president to end a two-year-long vacancy in the post.
“Speaker Nabih Berri called a parliament session to elect a president of the republic on January 9,” the official National News Agency reported.
Lebanon has been functioning without a president for over two years after former president Michel Aoun’s term ended in 2022. Since then, neither of the two main blocs – the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its opponents – have secured a majority required to elect a president.
‘Quickly elect a president’
Berri, who led ceasefire talks on behalf of ally Hezbollah, also called Wednesday for the country to “quickly elect a president”.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a speech earlier this month that after the war, Hezbollah would “bring an effective contribution to the election of a president”.
By convention, the presidency goes to a Maronite Christian, the premiership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim and the post of parliament speaker goes to a Shiite Muslim.
Why can’t Lebanon elect a president?
Michel Aoun, a close ally of Iran-backed Hezbollah, concluded his six-year presidency on October 30. Since then, Lebanon’s sharply divided parliament has convened nine times to elect a new leader, but each attempt has ended in failure.
This prolonged political deadlock has intensified the country’s paralysis, delaying crucial reforms needed to address a severe economic crisis that has left three-quarters of the population in poverty.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/world/lebanon-to-convene-paliamentary-session-in-jan-to-elect-new-president-13839743.html.
