 "Lebanon to convene paliamentary session in Jan to elect new president")
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.
“In order to elect a president in Lebanon, you first need to find a consensual figure who is not vetoed by major Lebanese players, and who is vetted and okayed by regional powers,” said Karim Emile Bitar, Professor of International Relations at Beirut’s Saint Joseph University.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“So far you have a tug-of-war between the Iranian-Syrian axis backing Hezbollah and on the other hand the alliance that is closer to the United States and Saudi Arabia.”
With inputs from agencies
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