Lebanon's parliament to vote for presidential elections on June 14

05 June 2023

 

The Lebanese Chamber of deputies will meet on June 14 to elect a new president of the republic. Chairman of the unicameral parliament Nabih Berri announced this on Monday.


"Voting will take place on Wednesday, June 14, at the parliamentary palace in the Place d'Etoile," the speaker said in a statement issued by his office.


Berri set the date for the next round of elections after opposition factions nominated a new candidate for head of state on June 4. It was Jihad Azour, director of the International Monetary Fund's Middle East and Central Asia branch, who served as the republic's finance minister from 2005-2008. Azour has the support of the two main Christian blocs, led by the Lebanese Forces party and the Free Patriotic Movement.


On January 19, members of the Lebanese parliament, in their eleventh election, failed to choose the head of the republic. The highest office of state has been vacant since October 31, 2022, after General Michel Aoun left the Baabda presidential palace at the end of his six-year term.


The first round of elections took place on September 29, and then deputies met for 10 more sessions, but the vote never revealed a winner. None of the presidential candidates succeeded in garnering the support of 65 of the 128 legislators needed to be elected. On May 31, Berri said he would hold a new session of parliament "only when there are serious contenders who can garner a large number of votes."


On June 1, the newspaper Nida Al-Watan reported that Speaker Berri headed a list of 19 Lebanese politicians threatened with US sanctions for obstructing the election of the republic's new president. According to its information, 19 officials and deputies will face US Treasury Department restrictions if the head of the republic is not elected this month.

 

 

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Photo: Xevi V/Creative Commons 2.0

Based on materials from TASS