Lebanon: Parliament fails to elect a new President of the Republic

The Lebanese Parliament failed Thursday, September 29 to elect a new President of the Republic after a first round of voting, no consensus having yet been found to choose the successor to the outgoing Head of State, Michel Aoun , despite an unprecedented financial crisis.

The deep divisions within the Assembly raise fears that Lebanon could again find itself without a president for months, after Michel Aoun's mandate expires at the end of October, which would further undermine the confidence of creditors.

The election of the incumbent president in 2016 took place after a 29-month vacancy at the top of the state, parliamentarians having tried in vain, 45 times, to reach a consensus on a candidate.

Adjournment

Since 2019, Lebanon has been plunged into a deep economic crisis blamed by a large part of the population on the mismanagement, corruption, negligence and inertia of a ruling class in place for decades.

In the space of three years, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 95% of its value on the black market.

Before Thursday's session, it was uncertain whether there would be enough MPs for the vote, but a quorum was finally reached.

A total of 122 MPs out of 128 voted, including 68 who slipped a blank ballot.

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Under the current denominational power-sharing system, the presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian.

Michel Moawad, deputy and son of President René Moawad who was assassinated in 1989, obtained the highest number of votes on Thursday, with 36 votes.

He would have needed a total of 86 votes to get elected in the first round.

Several deputies left the room before a second round was organized, leading to the adjournment of the session for lack of quorum.

Parliament leader Nabih Berri has announced he will call for a second round "

", a process that could take months in a country where the political class is deeply divided.

“Risk of incidents”

Lebanon is experiencing one of the worst economic crises in the world since 1850 according to the World Bank, marked by a vertiginous rise in prices, a historic plunge in the national currency and severe shortages.

Four out of five Lebanese now live below the poverty line according to the UN, an unprecedented impoverishment accelerated by three-digit inflation.

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The country is also in a political stalemate, with a new government still pending, four months after the legislative elections.

Last week, France, Saudi Arabia and the United States issued a joint statement urging MPs to "

".

“

,” warned analyst Karim Bitar.

IMF calls for reform

In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced an agreement in principle with Beirut for three billion dollars in aid, spread over four years but conditional on the implementation of crucial reforms.

Among these reforms, he calls for the unification of the exchange rate, the reform of the law on banking secrecy, the restructuring of the banking sector and a law on capital control.

The 2022 budget, also demanded by the IMF, was adopted this week.

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Lebanon announced on Wednesday a new official exchange rate of 15,000 pounds for one US dollar from November 1, a measure which according to the Ministry of Finance constitutes "

" towards the unification of the multiple exchange rates in force in the country.

In September, the Lebanese Minister of the Economy, Amine Salam, had deemed it necessary to "

".