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Lebanon approaches presidential deadline

If Lebanon’s parliament fails to elect a president by the constitutionally stipulated deadline of midnight on May 24, the ensuing vacuum could further exacerbate the already tense situation in the country.
Lebanese members of parliament gather to elect the new Lebanese president in the parliament building in downtown Beirut April 23, 2014. Lebanese parliamentarians failed to elect a new president in a first round of voting on Wednesday, with leading candidate Samir Geagea falling well short of the required two-thirds majority. REUTERS/Joseph Eid/Pool  (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3MAQN
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On May 15, the fourth parliamentary session was held to elect the president of Lebanon. For the fourth consecutive time, the session was postponed due to the lack of a quorum. A new session was scheduled for May 22, and this could be the last or next-to-last session before the constitutionally specified deadline for electing a president ends at midnight on May 24. At this time, there is nothing to indicate that the fate of this session will differ from that of its predecessors. If the required quorum is not achieved, then a presidential vacuum will be inevitable, and this could open the door for the obstruction of all institutions and mechanisms of governance.

First, the March 8 bloc is resorting to the weapon of "obstructing [parliamentary] sessions," trying to prevent the arrival of any candidate who does not enjoy its approval, and this is done under the pretext of preserving Lebanon’s "National Pact," the unwritten agreement laying down the foundation of Lebanon’s confessional system. Thus, the parliamentary one-third has transformed into an "effective minority," taking the place of the effective majority. This is because, by using this third to prevent a quorum, it has the right to veto any topic or item until it agrees on it, before resorting to the ballot box. Indeed, this bloc had already instilled the principle of the blocking third at the government level, especially after the Doha Agreement in 2009. The fact that March 8 had a third of ministerial posts in the government gave it the ability to disrupt all decisions that it did not agree with.

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