Lebanese lawmakers fail latest attempt to elect president

BEIRUT: Lebanese lawmakers on Wednesday failed in the latest attempt to elect a president and break a seven-month power vacuum that has roiled the Mediterranean country.

The results of the vote count in the 12th session of parliament showed that the opposition candidate, former minister Jihad Azour, received 59 votes. In contrast, the candidate of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, former Premier Suleiman Frangieh, received 51.

A political observer said that the Wednesday session “served to determine the balance of power, end the chances of candidates, and open other doors for consensus on new names in another election session.”

The opposition had anticipated that Azour would receive more than 60 votes compared to Frangieh’s expected 44. Winning in the first round of elections requires 86 votes, while in the second round, the requirement falls to 65.

For the first time in 12 sessions, all 128 MPs attended the voting session. The votes of the undecided, independents and those unconvinced by the two candidates were scattered, totaling 18 votes, including one vote for army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun, six votes for former minister Ziad Baroud, eight votes for New Lebanon, and one vote for Jihad Arab, a Lebanese contractor, which was invalidated. One blank vote was cast, and another was lost but later counted in favor of Baroud.

The election session ended with Shiite MPs leaving the assembly hall, which deprived the session of the necessary quorum, and thus no second round was held. Speaker Nabih Berri did not set a date for a new session.

Neither Azour, 57, nor Frangieh, 58, attended the session. However, the candidates tweeted immediately after the session ended. Azour thanked all the MPs who put their trust in him. “I hope the new scene will be an incentive for convergence on an option to pull Lebanon out of the crisis, by respecting the expression of the majority of MPs,” he said.

Frangieh expressed his gratitude to the MPs “who elected me and placed their trust in me. We also respect the opinion of the MPs who did not elect me, and this is an incentive for constructive dialogue with everyone.”

Hezbollah and Amal Movement MPs left the election session with smiles, despite Frangieh receiving fewer votes than the opposition candidate.

MP Ali Hassan Khalil from the Amal Movement said: “We have witnessed the victory of our project, while others struggle with their choices. We are convinced of our candidate choice.”

Hezbollah MP Hussein Al-Hajj Hassan said: “We still support our candidate, despite others attempting to rally behind a single candidate despite their political differences. This is the result. We call for dialogue and unity.”

Lebanese Forces MP Shawki Dakash said the most significant aspect of the session was that “77 MPs said no to Hezbollah. However, some colleagues missed the opportunity to elect a president and restore authority to initiate the country’s revival.”

MP Ashraf Rifi said after the session that there is “significant progress toward choosing a state rather than a fiefdom.”

Following the session, Kataeb head MP Sami Gemayel highlighted “threats and pressures exerted on some MPs on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, forcing them to refrain from voting for Azour.”

The political observer said that five MPs from the Free Patriotic Movement appeared to have deviated from their leadership by avoiding voting for Azour. It was also revealed that Armenian MPs voted for Frangieh.

The election session took place amid external pressure on Lebanon to elect a president as soon as possible. Spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, Anne-Claire Legendre, urged Lebanese MPs to “take the session seriously and not miss another opportunity.”

The political observer said: “Such an outcome pushes Lebanon into a new phase of political stagnation at a time when it is most in need of a rapid rescue operation for its collapsed economy, institutional paralysis, the continuation of vacancies in important institutions such as the Central Bank governorship, army leadership, and diplomatic missions abroad, in addition to the paralysis at the government level, which has been a caretaker government for over a year.”

Independent MP Michel Daher highlighted the need to choose a consensus president capable of forming a rescue government and reaching out to Arab nations for assistance, warning that “otherwise, the collapse continues.”

Joanna Wronecka, UN special coordinator for Lebanon, said: “Lebanon’s leaders and MPs need to take urgent steps to ensure the election of a president, for the sake of their country and people. A prolonged vacuum undermines democratic practices in Lebanon and further delays the reforms and necessary solutions that have long been awaited to restore the country to the path of recovery.”