The Lebanese parliament failed on Monday to elect a president for the fourth time, with just a week to go before President Michel Aoun’s term ends and warnings of a growing constitutional crisis.
With the parliament more fragmented than ever after the May elections, political blocs were unable to reach consensus on a candidate to succeed Aoun.
The presidency has been vacant several times since the 1975-1990 civil war, but a vacuum now would be especially worrisome. The government is already operating on a temporary basis and the country is sinking deeper and deeper into a three-year financial meltdown.
The economic and political turmoil has sunk the currency by more than 90%, spread poverty, crippled the financial system and froze depositors of their savings in the most destabilizing crisis since the country’s civil war.
The votes in parliament on Monday were mainly split between independent MP Michel Mouawad, newly appointed academic Issam Khalife, blank ballots and some votes for political slogans.
Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri has set the next session for Thursday 27 October.
Anticipating another vacuum at the top, politicians have stepped up efforts to reach agreement on a new cabinet led by Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Najib Mikati – who is currently serving as a temporary – to which presidential powers can pass.
(Edited by William Maclean)
Source: CNN Brasil
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