Lebanon: Voting Begins to Elect a New President

Beirut – Members of the Lebanese Parliament have begun voting in a plenary session to elect a new president for the country.

The session is chaired by Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, with the attendance of Prime Minister Najib Mikati.اضافة اعلان

The presidential position has been vacant since the end of former President Michel Aoun's term on October 30, 2022.

A deep political deadlock among the parliamentary blocs has prevented the election of a president, despite 12 sessions held since the end of Aoun’s term.

According to the Lebanese Constitution, the Parliament consists of 128 members, and the president is elected by a two-thirds majority, meaning 86 votes in the first round, or by a simple majority (known in Lebanon as “50% +1”), which requires 65 votes in subsequent rounds, as per Article 49 of the Constitution.

The Constitution also requires that in sessions where a new president is elected by a simple majority, two-thirds of the Parliament (86 MPs) must be present in the hall, which has been difficult to achieve in previous sessions.