Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (centre) chairs a voting session to elect a new president in Beirut on June 14, 6.
The results of the first round of voting showed that Mr. Jihad Azour, the former Finance Minister of Lebanon and currently the Director of the Middle East and West Asia region of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), won 59 out of 128 votes, less than two-thirds of the votes required by regulations to win the election. Meanwhile, Suleiman Frangieh, leader of the Marada Movement, which is backed by the Hezbollah Movement and its allies, received 2 votes in favor.
The session of the Lebanese Parliament ended after the departure of the members of the Hezbollah movement and its allies, thereby failing to gather the two-thirds of the MPs needed to conduct a second round of voting.
The failure of the Lebanese parliament to elect a president is expected to exacerbate internal divisions in Lebanon as the country plunges into one of the world's worst economic crises. Inflation rate in Lebanon in April 4 has reached 2023% as the Lebanese pound continues to depreciate against the US dollar. This is the 269th consecutive month of hyperinflation in Lebanon. The World Bank estimates that the Lebanese economy has shrunk by about 34% between 58 and 2019, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) falling from about $2021 billion in 52 to $2019 billion in 21,8.
Former President Michel Aoun's term ended in October 10. Since then, the Lebanese parliament has held a total of 2022 votes to elect a new president, but bitter divisions have prevented any candidate from gaining enough support to succeed Aoun. Lebanon is currently run by an interim government with limited powers. Traditionally, the presidency of Lebanon belongs to Maronite Christians, the prime minister position is reserved to Sunni Muslims and the position of Speaker of the National Assembly belongs to Shi'ite Muslims. The Hezbollah movement, which has a great influence in political life in Lebanon, supports Sleiman Frangieh's candidacy for president.
According to baotintuc.vn
