The Lebanese parliament has not agreed on the election of a new president.
Photo: EFE – WAEL HAMZEH
The first attempt planned for this year to elect a president of the republic in the Lebanese parliament ended this Thursday without an appointment. This result has occurred on ten previous occasions, although the The head of state has been vacant for almost three months. Again, the majority of MPs opted for the empty vote.
Specifically, 37 of them opted for a neutral vote. Michel MoawadSon of assassinated former Lebanese President Rene Moawad, just over 20 supporters remained from the absolute majority required for the election after receiving 34 yes votes in this Thursday’s session.
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Although some lawmakers supported alternative candidates, no one else received a significant number of support, and the legislature continued to be split into two large blocs: the coalition of the Shia group Hezbollah, which maintained the empty vote, and the so-called “opponents”. from Moawad. Rene Moawad’s son is opposed to Hezbollah and his candidacy has the backing of major Christian parties such as the Lebanese Armed Forces or Kataeb, but his defenders have so far failed in their attempts to attract more supporters from ranks not aligned with the Shia formation in majority.
This Thursday’s session took place as relatives of the victims of the August 2020 blast that killed more than 200 people and injured 6,500 in Beirut in August 2020 gathered near Parliament and demanded justice for their loved ones. Two and a half years after the tragedy, investigations remain paralyzed by what human rights organizations see as “obstruction” by a number of former senior officials suspected of negligence in the case.
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In recent days, several relatives of the victims have been arrested over alleged “vandalism” committed during a protest organized outside the Palace of Justice last week, which drew heavy criticism for the double standards of the authorities, who have been accused of inaction against the suspects Explosion. Some of the lawmakers present at today’s presidential election wrote slogans such as “Justice for the Victims of the Port” or “The Victims of August 4th” on their ballots to give visibility to the cause, even though the votes were counted as zero.
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