First Session Loses Quorum Without a President for the Republic: 63 Blank Votes and 36 for Michel Moawad

The session of the House of Representatives began on Thursday morning, chaired by President Nabih Berri, to elect a president for the republic. A total of 122 deputies attended; absent were: Niema Afram, Najat Saliba, Ibrahim Mneimneh, and Fouad Makhzoumi (with excuse), while Strida Geagea and Salim Sayegh were absent without excuse. Following this, the ballots were distributed to the deputies to elect the president. At the end of the first round, the voting results were: 63 deputies cast blank votes, 36 votes for Michel Moawad, 12 invalid votes, and 11 votes for Selim Edde. Thus, the session of the House of Representatives for electing a president came to an end after losing quorum in the second round. President Nabih Berri then stated: "When a consensus is reached on a president, I will call for another session of the House of Representatives."