By Yodeni Masó Águila
Correspondent in Lebanon
External interference, a lack of consensus between parliamentary blocs and an interim government with limited powers exemplify the reality of the Levantine nation trying to appoint its 14th post-independence head of state.
Ten unsuccessful sessions in the legislature and the refusal of dialogue by some parties prevent the appointment of the new representative of the Maronite Christian community, who is to take over the presidency of the republic for the next six years.
In this scenario, given the devaluation of the national currency and the loss of purchasing power of citizens, the achievement of the agreement to delimit the maritime border with Israel provided a dose of optimism on the road to recovery.
ELECTION YEAR
On May 15, Lebanon elected the 128 members of parliament, who here are divided equally between Christians and Muslims. Two weeks later, MP Nabih Berri won the support of the legislative majority to be re-elected as the body’s chair in his seventh consecutive term since 1992.
With the institution’s internal organizational process complete and protected by the constitution, President Michel Aoun summoned the representatives of the unicameral legislature to the Baabda Palace to appoint the new prime minister.
From those consultations, held on June 23, Najib Miqati was re-elected, who was unable to form the cabinet and will work on an interim basis with limited constitutional powers until the next presidential election.
POWER VACUUM
On October 31st, after six years, Michel Aoun left his position as head of state and the nation of cedars is facing the fourth constitutional loophole after independence.
After 10 sessions of parliament, no candidate achieved the required majority of 65 votes, and the political board left the names of Michel Moawad and Suleiman Franjieh in play as the main candidates for the presidency.
Positions of Free Patriotic Current leader Gebran Bassil delay appointment of Marada movement leader Franjieh, analysts say; meanwhile, another group of parties insists on proceeding with MP Moawad, whom his critics see as a challenging figure.
According to local observers, the Shia duo of Hezbollah and the Amal movement, as well as a large section of Sunni and independent MPs, support Franjieh; Meanwhile, the Lebanese Armed Forces, the Progressive Party, the Kataeb and others support Moawad.
From abroad, the UN Security Council and the Arab League stressed the urgency of an immediate election of the new president; France, the US, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are moving chips on the Lebanese scene as traditional influencers, the experts specified.
MARITIME DEMARK
On October 27, after more than two years of indirect talks, Lebanon and Israel separately delivered the memorandum of understanding defining the maritime border to US mediator Amos Hochstein and United Nations representative here Joanna Wronecka.
Under the shadow and interest of a group of powers, Lebanon has won a historic victory in a dispute against Tel Aviv that will transform the nation into an oil state within the Mediterranean region, its main political leaders have assured.
For the first time, the unified position of the highest authorities of the state, government and parliament, along with the Islamic Resistance’s technical team and power option, came together to uphold Lebanon’s rights to its natural resources.
The nation of cedars never gave in to pressure from Israel when it came to indirect talks, delineating economic zones rather than border lines between the two countries.
In this sense, Lebanon received all rights to work in the Qana field without waiting for prior approval or any pretense from the hostile entity to share wealth or pay compensation to Tel Aviv.
Faced with this scenario, the French company TotalEnergies confirmed the mobilization of the teams in charge of drilling operations in Lebanon’s waters to start oil exploration in 2023.
Around 20 employees are expected to be in Beirut by the end of March and the drilling rig will be selected in the first quarter of 2023, the company said in a statement.
TotalEnergies clarified the request for pre-orders from suppliers for the needed equipment while also beginning to locate offshore resources to contribute to environmental studies due to end in June.
SOCIAL REALITY
The following year, the collapse forced around 70 per cent of families to seek help to survive amid reduced purchasing power, high living costs and the unprecedented devaluation of the national currency after hitting the Lebanese 46,000 pounds per US dollar threshold. At the societal level, for the first time since 1993, cholera put a strain on a healthcare system exhausted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the effects of the crisis.
The loss of life at sea demonstrated the phenomenon of immigration through irregular channels; Meanwhile, the public workers’ strike and the attack on the banks to collect their funds demonstrated popular dissatisfaction.
Outside the murky panorama, the rescue of festivals and cultural fairs, the Mayyas dance company’s triumph at America’s Got Talent event, and men’s basketball’s qualification for the 2023 World Cup all provided some cheer.
Due to the lack of political understanding, Lebanon will start the coming year with the challenge of electing the next president of the republic as the constitutional basis of the state to promote economic and financial recovery.
arb/yma