Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday expressed optimism and “very happy” about the possibility that a new president could be elected tomorrow in a vote in parliament, which would end the presidential vacuum that has lasted for more than two years.
"For the first time since the presidential vacuum, I feel happy because, God willing, tomorrow we will have a new president of the Republic," Mikati said, according to a statement from the press office of the Council of Ministers, released on his official social media account.
This was the only sentence Mikati made referring to the parliamentary session during a ceremony in Beirut for the launch of the “National Strategy for Integrated Solid Waste Management”, and it represents a clear indication of his confidence in ending the long vacancy in the post of head of state.
Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun's mandate expired in October 2022, since the country's different political blocs have been unable to agree on a consensus candidate who can gather sufficient support, causing more than a dozen electoral campaigns in the Chamber to fail.
The last time the Lebanese parliament, with 128 legislators, met to try to elect a new head of state was on June 14, 2023, in what was the twelfth failed attempt to find a successor to Michel Aoun (2016-2022).
The Speaker of the Legislature, Nabih Berri, called for the new session of the chamber, dedicated only to the election of a new president, on January 9 and November 28, one day after the ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah came into effect.
Agencies contributed to this Aurora article.