BEIRUT: Lebanon’s divided parliament failed to elect a new president on Thursday for the ninth time after many MPs canceled their votes, including the one who voted for “Nelson Mandela”.
The opponent of Hezbollah, Michel Moawad, received the support of 39 representatives, but they are far from reaching the required number.
Parliament President Nabih Berri closed the session and announced a new meeting next Thursday, the last session for 2022. Berri reiterated the call for a dialogue between parliament to find a consensus to avoid the process going on for months.
Only 105 out of 128 MPs turned out to vote on Thursday and most of them canceled their votes. For the first time, after eight parliamentary sessions, the number of votes cast by Hezbollah and its allies equaled Mouawad’s vote.
The agreement comes amid tensions between Hezbollah and its Christian affiliate in Lebanon, the Free Patriotic Movement, since last Monday’s summit. According to a parliamentary observer, the FPM has decided not to vote as before and distribute its votes in a calculated manner.
Lebanon Parliament’s speaker calls for dialogue and develop
Although the assembly did not elect a president, the decision of the FPM sent Hezbollah a calculated message about its open decision by counting some of the votes from its representatives in favor of Mouawad, thus reducing the number of empty votes, according to the watching him said. The winner must have at least 86 votes in the first round and a total of 65 votes in the next round.
The Lebanon parliament did not organize a second round for the loss of quorum after the exclusion of Hezbollah, the Amal group and representatives of other groups. Nine representatives voted for “New Lebanon”, five for Issam Khalifeh and three for the head of customs Badri Daher, who is in custody as part of the investigation into the explosion at the port of Beirut.
Former MP Ziad Baroud, lawyer and candidate Salah Honein, and activist and activist Fawzi Bou Malhab got one vote. One vote had the inscription “For Lebanon” and the other “the agreement”. A vote was cast for “Nelson Mandela”, in addition to the canceled votes.
The election results showed that the FPM parliamentarians, 17 in number, chose their choice carefully, because they did not direct all their votes to Mouawad. Some votes with the text “Mouawad”, “Michel” and “Mouawad Badri Daher” were canceled, among others.
The representatives of Hezbollah and FPM did not make any statement after the meeting, but they had a short discussion. Amal Movement parliamentarians refrained from negotiating between Hezbollah and the FPM.
MP Ali Hassan Khalil said that each party should review its position, so that “we can continue this discussion”.
He said: “We are very keen to maintain the relationship between the political forces, we are not involved in this. “Everyone should know that the only way to overcome this problem is through dialogue and communication.”
Mouawad said that “what happened shows in the seriousness of a blog that voted for me. Some want to send a message but they can’t keep doing it until the end. What is happening is disgusting.
The MP said he refused to be included in what he called ‘vote-switching’.
He said: “What is needed is a president, not a president who believes in bad ideas.”
The conflict between Hezbollah and the FPM has come to a head this time for the first time.
Hours before the parliamentary session, Hezbollah issued a statement in response to Gebran Bassil’s harsh criticism against the party, accusing him of not fulfilling his promises. The accusation came in the context of Hezbollah’s participation in the executive session, which the FPM considers an illegal way of supporting the president’s authority.
Hezbollah said in its statement that the party does not believe anyone that the government will meet only with the support of all its resources, so there is no reason for Bassil to consider this decision as a broken promise.
The statement added: “Hezbollah did not agree with the FPM and will not go to the executive meeting soon if the ministers of the same party (FPM) remove it.”
Hezbollah said that “using the language of treason and distrust is reckless and inappropriate behavior.”
Hezbollah said that “what Lebanon needs today is dialogue and dialogue.”
Lebanon acted quickly to improve the security of Rafic Hariri International Airport and those passing through it. The Minister of the Interior Bassam Mawlawi said that they will continue to fight against trafficking in force in all places that cross the border with all support in security and military units.
