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Lebanon: two deputies spend the night in parliament to demand the election of a president

2023-01-20T16:49:21.694Z


Two deputies from the protest movement in Lebanon spent the night of Thursday January 19 to Friday January 20 in parliament, where they decided...


Two deputies from the protest movement in Lebanon spent the night of Thursday January 19 to Friday January 20 in parliament, where they decided to observe a sit-in until the election of a head of state in the country without a president for almost three months.

While Lebanon has been plunged since 2019 into an unprecedented socio-economic crisis, largely blamed on corruption and the negligence of the ruling class, the deputies are unable to elect a president because of their deep divisions.

Eleventh sterile session

At the end of an eleventh session of parliament on Thursday, which failed like the previous ones to appoint a head of state, the ecologist Najat Saliba and the former president of Beirut Melhem Khalaf remained in the hemicycle, announcing the start of their sit-in.

"

We slept here, and we hope that this day will bring new hope for Lebanon

," MP Saliba said in a video posted on social media.

In a message to the Lebanese posted the day before, MP Khalaf said that "

the election of a president who could save Lebanon has become urgent

", adding that their initiative was aimed at forcing the parliament to hold continuous sessions to elect a head of state.

Solidarity from other deputies

Several deputies, like them from the protest movement of autumn 2019, spent the evening Thursday with them as a sign of solidarity.

They posted videos showing them sitting in the dark, lighting up in the light of their cellphones.

Electricity was cut in the parliament in the evening, and journalists were not allowed to enter.

Dozens of activists gathered outside parliament on Thursday evening to support the two MPs, and another rally is scheduled for Friday afternoon.

The parliament is divided between the camp of the powerful pro-Iranian Hezbollah and its allies and that of their adversaries, neither having a clear majority there to impose a candidate.

But electing a president could take months, as happened when Michel Aoun was elected in 2016, after a 29-month vacancy at the top of the state.

SEE ALSO

- Paris calls on Lebanese officials to facilitate the "rapid election" of a president

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-01-20

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