Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Lebanon Practically Enters 'Presidential Vacuum' a Week before End of Aoun’s Term

Lebanon Practically Enters 'Presidential Vacuum' a Week before End of Aoun’s Term

A fourth attempt by the Lebanese Parliament to elect a new president for the country failed on Monday, as a result of a loss of quorum. Unlike previous sessions that ended similarly, Speaker Nabih Berri refrained from calling for a next round, telling Asharq Al-Awsat that the election sessions have become a “failed and useless play.”
“That’s why I will try to replace them with a dialogue between political forces,” he added.

Monday’s parliamentary session came about a week before the end of the tenure of President Michel Aoun, who will leave Baabda Palace next Sunday, one day before the end of his term, confirming the inevitability of a presidential vacuum amid continuous disagreements over the name of his successor.

Berri clearly explained his decision to stop convening the Parliament. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the election sessions had become a “failed and useless play, and for this reason I will try to replace it with a dialogue between the political forces.”

He revealed that he has started sending his delegates to the political forces to solicit their opinion on the possibility of holding a national dialogue, with the aim to hold presidential elections that give the Lebanese “hope of getting out of the dangerous crises plaguing their country.”

In the same context, Berri asserted that he would not call for any dialogue before the end of Aoun’s current presidential term, refusing to assert that a vacuum occurred before all means were exhausted to avoid it.

In this context, he said: “It is useless to call for an election session in the absence of consensus and the balance of power within Parliament.”

“Dialogue will replace the sessions unless there is a possibility of consensus…” he added.

The fourth session did not bring anything new except for some changes in the distribution of votes. MP Michel Moawad obtained 39 votes, mainly from his Renewal Bloc, the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), the Lebanese Forces (LF), and the Kataeb party. On the other hand, 50 blank papers were cast by representatives of Hezbollah and its allies, who left the session before the beginning of the second voting round. As a result, the quorum was lost.

Most of the Change Bloc deputies chose to vote for Issam Khalifeh (a university professor who defends Lebanon’s share in the maritime borders represented by what is known as Line 29 and not 23 as stipulated in the recent agreement), while the National Moderation deputies, as in the previous session, voted for “New Lebanon”, and two other votes were canceled.

In remarks following the session, Moawad said: “I got 39 votes due to the absence of a number of deputies, and I have a clear road map.”

He added: “Hezbollah wants a gray president who obeys to it. [The party] continues to isolate Lebanon.”

Moawad also pointed to the presence of “a dominant authority working to blackmail MPs and the Lebanese to maintain its quotas by disrupting sessions…”

Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan reiterated his support to Moawad’s candidacy. Responding to a question about the LF willingness to meet Hezbollah’s invitation to agree on a president, he said: “The point of disagreement with Hezbollah is based on the Constitution, the law, and arms outside state authority. Everything becomes possible if Hezbollah accepts the principle of the state, the Constitution and the law, and admits that no weapons remain outside the state.”

On the other hand, MP Alain Aoun, who is member of Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), stressed that the election of a new president could only be achieved by securing a minimum level of consensus.

“This requires dialogue, and [Monday’s session] is evidence that what is happening is not enough,” he stated.

In remarks before the beginning of the parliamentary session, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said that his bloc would cast a blank paper.

“We hope that everyone will benefit from this experience.... We renew the call for understandings and for consensus on a name… We are open to dialogue. The issue is not a compilation of numbers,” he noted.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
×