On Thursday, the Lebanese Parliament held its sixth session to elect a new president for the republic, without reaching the election of a figure with the required majority due to the absence of consensus on any name.
The result of the vote in the session (first round) was as follows: a white paper 46, Michel Moawad 43, New Lebanon 9, Issam Khalifa 7, Ziad Baroud 3, Suleiman Franjieh 1, Michel Daher 1 and an invalid paper 2, and the number of votes was among the deputies during Session 112.
And before the start of the second session of the session, the quorum was lost, which prompted Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to adjourn the session and set the seventh session next Thursday.
During the session, Speaker Berri stressed, commenting on discussions about the quorum for electing the President of the Republic, that “we told you from day one that there must be consensus in order to reach a conclusion.” He indicated that “there is no discussion of the constitution because it is clear.” The constitution needs a two-thirds quorum, and whoever disrupts the quorum today can disrupt it in other sessions.”
For his part, Hussein Hajj Hassan, a member of the “Loyalty to the Resistance” bloc, said, “What is happening is a continuation of the political division in the country and the other party’s rejection of the dialogue called for by Speaker Berri.” The responsibility for obstruction rests with this same team that refuses dialogue.”
During the session, Representative Sami Al-Jamil spoke about the quorum required to elect the president, and some representatives participated in this discussion.
In the context, Al-Binaa newspaper said, according to its information, “The Lebanese Forces blocs, the Kataeb, Renewal, and the Socialist Party will vote for the deputy candidate, Michel Moawad, and new votes from the Change Bloc will be added to it, and it is likely that the two representatives will be Mark Daou and Najat Saliba, bringing the number of votes that he will receive to about 47 votes.” And she continued, “ As for the blocs of the Free Patriotic Movement, the Amal Movement, and Hezbollah, they will vote with a white paper, and the votes of the Change Bloc will be distributed between Moawad, Issam Khalifa, and New Lebanon.
In a related context, Al-Banna said that “on the eve of the session, the political circles followed with great interest the visit of the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Representative Gebran Bassil, to France and its connection to the presidential election in light of the French efforts towards Saudi Arabia and the internal parties to reconcile them to elect a consensual president.” Meetings, most notably with the advisor to the French President, Patrick Dorrell, and indicated that “the visit comes within the framework of a foreign tour that Bassil is making to several countries and is related to the presidential file to explore the French atmosphere and international conditions to produce a presidential settlement in Lebanon, especially after his visit to Qatar last week.”
In turn, Al-Jumhuriya newspaper said, quoting sources, that “the consultations that took place on more than one line in recent days did not result in any positive results, but rather indicated that the possibility of consensus is impossible, in connection with the orientations of the parties to the internal conflict,” and continued, “as is the case with regard to The opposition, which was unable to rally around a specific candidate, and at the same time closed the door to understanding with the other party on a consensual president of the republic, as is the case on the other side, where attempts failed between the “allies team” to agree on a specific candidate.
The newspaper pointed out that “the consultations have not ended, as they have a continuation in the foreseeable future, especially as they coincide with signals related to the presidential file received by some responsible levels through European as well as Arab diplomatic channels, reflecting that the presidential file is on fire, and it should be completed in the near future.” And she added, “What is remarkable about these references is that they approach the nominations and names that are presented in the failed electoral sessions as non-serious nominations, and there is no room for any of them to reach the presidency, nor do they imply at the same time any veto over any of the main candidates.” .
Source: Lebanese newspapers