Egypt Ambassador: No Lebanese president has ever been elected without dialogue

The five-nation group for Lebanon, which comprises the U.S., France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, has met Lebanese leaders this week in an initiative aimed at ending a presidential crisis and months of political wrangling.

The group's initiative consists of three phases, Egyptian Ambassador Alaa Moussa said. Moussa told LBCI Wednesday that the first and most important step is to communicate with the blocs and to have their commitment. Consultations would follow, and the third step would be the election of a president in Parliament.

Crisis-hit Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with neither of the two main blocs -- Hezbollah and its opponents -- having the majority required to elect one.

The international community and the five-nation group have long urged Lebanese leaders to elect a president and stem the financial meltdown.

The ambassadors of the five-nation group met this week with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, former President Michel Aoun, former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. They said they will resume their meetings with other political forces early next month.

"Some have concerns over holding a dialogue but no Lebanese president has ever been elected without one," Moussa said. "Our aim is to implement the constitution," he added.

Al-Rahi had told the ambassadors that the president should be elected by a parliamentary vote and that he fears that the presidential vacancy would protract every time under the excuse of dialogue and prior understanding.

"Resorting to the constitution to elect a president is the shortcut to the democratic process", Bkerki's sources said, dubbing dialogue "a waste of time."