The first session to elect a new president of the Lebanese Republic, which took place today in the House of Representatives, was hailed by the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Ioana Frontka, as a step toward coordinating more efforts to ensure the election of a president within the constitutional deadline and to strengthen the role of the executive authority in serving the public interest and meeting needs.
This information was provided in a statement that addressed the parliament meeting that was held yesterday to pick Michel Aoun’s successor as president. Aoun’s term as president expires on October 31.
A candidate failed to receive the number of votes necessary to win the election in the first round of today’s election for a new president of the republic. Candidate MP Michel Moawad received 36 votes, while candidate Salim Eddeh received 11 votes, while 63 deputies cast their ballots on white paper and 12 deputies cast symbolic ballots.
The success of any of the first-round candidates needed gaining a two-thirds majority by 86 votes out of 128 members of the House of Representatives who took part in yesterday’s session, which included 122 deputies.
When only 85 deputies were present instead of the required 86, the session’s quorum was lost, making it impossible to hold a second round of voting. However, it was still feasible to win the session with a relative majority of just 65 votes.
The UN Representative in Lebanon urges coordinated action to ensure that a new president is elected before the constitutional deadline.
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