Lebanon is set to have its 12 th round of presidential election on June 14th

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called for a June 14 presidential election session,

This will be the 12th session that the parliament tries to elect a new president . The last of which was held on January 19.

Berri’s announcement comes a day after the opposition officially announced the nomination of former Finance minister Jihad Azour as its presidential candidate.

The 12th session will be held at 11am Wednesday, June 14, Berri said in a statement.

Berri reportedly has been waiting for an official announcement of Azour’s candidacy before scheduling the session.

Former president Michel Aoun’s term ended last October and the country has been without a president and a fully functional government since then.

Lebanon has been run by a caretaker government with very limited powers since the May 2022 election

Time to save the homeland

On Sunday, Change lawmaker Mark Daou announced the nomination of of former minister Jihad Azour as the opposition’s candidate for the presidency, saying: “We affirm respect for the sovereignty of the state and the adoption of all reforms, especially the independence of the judiciary and the accountability of those responsible for all the disasters that occurred.”

Daou added :“We, as opposition forces, sensed the size of national responsibility, rejected the logic of confrontation , and chose, for the sake of the country, to break the cycle of vacuum that is destroying this country. We searched for an acceptable alternative from the parliamentary forces for a consensus candidate with the aim of restoring hope and salvation and we agreed to name Minister Jihad Azour ” as a consensus candidate. He is at equal distance from everyone, and has the ability to save Lebanon from the current collapse.

“We declare our readiness to vote for Azour on the basis of the priority of saving Lebanon and ending the vacuum, because Lebanon needs to be rescued, for the sake of all the Lebanese people .

Daou stressed “it is time to save the homeland, the state and the institutions.

He continued by saying “We have full confidence that Azour has the 65 votes needed , so let a session be called and we will all go to the parliament . 

He urged all parliamentary blocs to rally behind this initiative .

Berri , who has been accused by the opposition of hijacking the parliament claimed that France is “still clinging to ( Suleiman ) Franjieh’s nomination.”

Berri a key ally of the Iranian backed Hezbollah has been the speaker for more than 3 decades ,

According to Lebanese TV station LBCI if Speaker Berri calls for a session, and if a quorum is achieved Azour has a much better chance of being elected than Franjieh . LBC projected that Franjieh could secure about 45 votes , while Azour could secure 68 votes out of the 128 member parliament .

“Neither victor nor vanquished

During his Sunday mass , Maronite Patriarch, Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rai, welcomed “every step towards understanding and consensus over a president’s election,” as the opposition was preparing to announce the name of its presidential candidate. 

He called for consensus on a president with the formula: “Neither victor nor vanquished”.

Several other candidates have been named including Army Chief General Joseph Aoun, former minister of Interior Ziad Baroud , Salah Honein a lawyer and former MP and several other.  

The Lebanese economy remains severely depressed against continued deadlock over much needed economic reforms and high uncertainty. Despite the urgency for action to address Lebanon’s deep economic and social crisis, progress in implementing the reforms agreed under the 2022 agreement with IMF remains very slow. 

Sam Haddad a Lebanese observer told Ya Libnan 

“Let’s face it , Azour is the only candidate that understands or able to handle the collapse of Lebanon’s economy which is the most important issue for Lebanon at this moment in time”

A year after Lebanon’s draft IMF deal raised hopes it could finally pull together an economic reform plan to address its financial meltdown, political and financial elites are obstructing prospects of securing any rescue package.

Efforts to enact eight reforms sought by the IMF are going nowhere or falling short, hitting resistance from politicians who are shielding vested interests and dodging accountability.

Delaying their implementation only increases the costs to the country and its population . 

 Lebanon will likely have little to present to the Fund to back its quest to unlock $3 billion in aid, and adds to doubts over whether the government will ever come up with a plan to address the crisis.

The Lebanese pound has become almost worthless as retailers in Lebanon are demanding dollars for their goods and services after the pound lost about 99 % of its value

Azour’s qualifications

Azour is currently the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund where he oversees the Fund’s work in the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and Caucasus.

Azour served as Lebanon’s Finance Minister in 2005-08, during which time he coordinated the implementation of important reforms, including modernizing the country’s tax and customs systems. Before and since his time as finance minister, he held a wide range of executive positions in the private sector, including McKinsey and Booz and Co. where he was a Vice-President and Senior Executive Advisor.

Azour holds a PhD in International Finance and a post-graduate degree in International Economics and Finance, both from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. He also did research on emerging economies and their integration into the global economy as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard. Azour has published several books and articles on economic and financial issues and taught extensively.

Ali Hussein a political observer told Ya Libnan

“All the Lebanese are suffering because of the collapsed economy and all of the Lebanese will benefit from having a financial expert who can lead the country at this juncture , so lets stop wasting time and let’s get somebody qualified who can unite the country after it has been polarized for so many years.”

He added, “The question today is, will Hezbollah allow the presidential elections to be held on the 14th of this month?

In his opinion, ” Hezbollah and its allies will revert to their old habit of voting with blank ballots , unless there is a major international decision to support Azour’s election, otherwise we will go to the third option which is Army commander, General Joseph Aoun.”

He believes that the threat of sanctions by Europe and the US against those MPs that disrupt the election is putting pressure on all the MPs to attend and vote .

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf had reportedly warned that her country might impose sanctions on Lebanese officials, including Berri if they continue to obstruct the election of a new president.  According to UPI , Speaker Berri has a US Green card that allows him to travel there to visit his family

Any candidate would need two thirds of parliament’s votes to be declared president from the first electoral round. A candidate can be elected with 65 votes in the second round but two thirds of parliament’s members need to be present during that vote. In all the former sessions the Hezbollah MPs and their allies left the parliament before the second round to make sure there was no quorum .