Berri adjourns presidential election session as FPM, Hezbollah boycott

A parliamentary session for the election of Lebanon's next president was adjourned Thursday to next week due to lack of quorum.

Only 71 out of 128 lawmakers attended the session and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called for another vote on October 20, to take place before Aoun's term finishes at the end of the month.

The session was boycotted by the FPM-led Strong Lebanon bloc as it coincided with the anniversary of Aoun's ouster at the end of the civil war in 1990 when the Syrian Army stormed the Baabda Palace, killing hundreds of Lebanese soldiers and civilians.

Hezbollah MPs, who still haven't agreed on a name for the next president, came to Parliament but did not attend the session in solidarity with the FPM.

MP Hassan Fadlallah called for further consultations in order to reach a consensual name. He criticized Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea for proposing a "confrontational" candidate.

"We call for consensus instead of confrontation," Fadlallah said, adding that naming a candidate who cannot become a president is a waste of time. "It will not lead to any results."

A first voting round last month saw lawmaker Michel Mouawad emerge as a frontrunner in the presidential race, but he fell far below the number of votes needed.

Fadlallah dismissed Mouawad's bid. "A challenge candidate will lead to more delays," he said.

Mouawad, who had garnered 36 votes from the opposition MPs in the first presidential election session, accused some parties of attempting to obstruct the election of a new president.

"I don't believe in a confrontational or a consensual president, but in a solution president" he said, calling on Hezbollah to "return to the state."

"We can only reconcile within the state," Mouawad added, as he considered that Lebanon needs to return to the Lebanese principles, to the Arab world, and to sovereignty.

"We are proposing a choice, a road map and a project," he said, adding that the opponents are not proposing any plan.

LF deputy chief Georges Adwan said that the blocs who are not naming candidates are afraid of confronting the public opinion.

"Mouawad has a chance," he said. "If the other parties had had the courage, we would have seen today how many votes Mouawad would have gotten." He added that a dialogue with Hezbollah is only possible when Hezbollah respects the constitution and the state's authority.

MP Sethrida Geagea said that some cards are still hidden, as the FPM and the Shiite Duo still have not announced their candidate.

Lebanon, grappling with its worst-ever financial crisis, is also in the throes of a political paralysis that has hampered attempts to form a new government, since the outgoing cabinet's mandate expired in May.

With no clear candidate to replace Aoun, the process to name a new president could also be extended -- although Lebanon can ill afford any delay.

Aoun was elected in 2016, after a more than two-year presidential vacancy. He was chosen after lawmakers tried 45 times to reach a consensus on a candidate.