Four days before the fifth convening of the legislature, disagreements between the main political forces still persist over the search for the new representative of the Maronite Christian community as head of state.
Names like Suleiman Franjieh, head of the Marada movement, and MP Michel Moawad are at the center of most debates surrounding the president of the Lebanese Republic, fueling controversy between the big Christian blocs Free Patriotic Current and Lebanese Forces.
Amid the worsening economic collapse and confrontation with the cholera epidemic, Lebanon is calling for the election of a president who is not a provocation to anyone, far from external dictates, MP Ali Miqdad said.
Regarding the power vacuum, lawmakers demanded not to waste more time and work on mediation, not to split and provoke internal conflicts that further aggravate the living conditions of the Lebanese.
Qassem Hashem, a member of the parliamentary bloc for development and liberation, said some are trying to push through a confrontational candidate under national titles and slogans that obstruct sessions in the legislature.
Faced with this scenario, the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, insisted on a president who has the ability for dialogue and deals with issues such as administrative decentralization and the abolition of sectarianism.
During a visit to Parliament leader Nabih Berri, Jumblatt dismissed the possibility of an opposing candidate and described the refusal of some parties to back away from the agreement as a mistake.
In the face of the crisis and the challenges posed by the constitutional vacancy, Pope Francis sent a message of calm and friendship to the Lebanese from the Vatican.
The pope urged politicians to put personal interests aside and look at the country in search of an agreement on the presidential election.
On the night of October 31, post-independence Lebanon, following the end of Michel Aoun’s mandate, entered the fourth constitutional vacuum in its history.
Before leaving the Baabda Presidential Palace, Aoun laid out the pillars to be considered for the next stage, such as reforming the judiciary, eliminating corruption and security to ward off the specter of civil war.
No candidate secured a majority of 65 MPs after four unsuccessful sessions in the unicameral legislature, and Lebanon is facing a period of an interim government and no political consensus.
jf/yma