The parliamentary council, chaired by President Nabih Berri, held its eleventh session to elect a president for the republic at eleven o'clock. After the voting concluded in the first round, the results were as follows: 34 votes for Michel Moawad, 37 blank votes, 2 for Ziad Baroud, 1 for Salah Hnein, 7 for Issam Khalifa, 14 votes for "New Lebanon," and 15 invalid ballots. President Berri then adjourned the session after losing the quorum, without setting a date for the next session. As such, a president was not elected in the eleventh session.
The phrase "Justice for the victims of August 4" was noted, and President Berri considered that paper invalid. The name "Bernie Sanders," a former candidate for the Democratic Party in the U.S. presidential elections, also emerged. One deputy voted for Milad Boumeleh, provoking the latter to shout "Allah Akbar," leading Berri to order him banned from entering the parliament.
Information indicated that the votes from "Strong Lebanon" deputies were distributed among the blank ballots cast by deputies Hagop Pakradounian, Hagop Terzian, George Bouchikian, and Mohammad Yahya, and the phrase "presidential priorities" which was placed by seven deputies, in addition to the name of former minister Ziad Baroud, for whom Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab voted.
President Berri opened the session with a minute of silence for the late President Hussein Husseini. The session commenced with the absence of deputies who had excuses: Akram Shehayeb, Pierre Bou Assi, Tony Frangieh, Ali Assiran, Taymour Jumblatt, and Edgar Traboulsi. Deputy Melhem Khalaf began the session, stating: "I am ashamed to be a deputy today while my people are demanding flour, bread, milk, electricity, and water... I am ashamed to be a deputy and repeat an absurd scene where we fail to elect a president."
He added: "My constitutional responsibility and adherence to the provisions of the constitution compel me to remain inside the parliamentary hall with deputy Najat Aoun, and we will not leave until the session remains open for consecutive rounds to elect a president to save democracy." Information indicated that Khalaf and Aoun remained inside the hall and did not exit.
The Secretary of the "Democratic Gathering" bloc, Deputy Hadi Abu al-Hassan, called at the start of the presidential election session for "consultation and breaking the stalemate; otherwise, we may be forced, as deputies of the 'Democratic Gathering', to suspend our participation in the next session if this situation continues."
The head of the Kataeb Party, Deputy Ashraf Rifi, mentioned, "I expect to see the name 'Jibran Bassil' among the votes today." Regarding the possibility of voting for Ni'ma Afrem if he runs for the presidency, Deputy Rifi noted: "That is possible." For his part, Deputy Ni'ma Afrem confirmed that he would not announce his candidacy for the presidency today.
Deputy As'ad Dergham humorously noted that he "would vote for Ziad al-Hawat." Meanwhile, Deputy Michel Douaihy told "Lebanon Debate": "We can say 'the serious presidential process has begun,' and during the holidays, we continued working towards a solution and felt progress." Deputy Waddah Sadek noted that "today's session will not differ from previous ones, but it is distinguished by the presence of the port explosion case with the families' protest outside."
Deputy Hadi Abu al-Hassan regarded the breaking of the stalemate as necessary, stating that the sessions should not continue in this manner, emphasizing, "Something different must be established in today's session to break the cycle that is exhausting the country." Deputy Bilal Abdullah expressed: "I believe there is something different in this session with the other team."
Moreover, Deputy Michel Douaihy said: "We will not be absent from the sessions and emphasize the necessity of electing a president of the republic; there is a new strategy." He added: "We can say 'the serious presidential process has begun,' and during the holidays, we continued working towards a solution and felt progress."
Member of the Strong Republic bloc, Deputy George Okis, stated: "We urge the opposition forces either to thank us for voting for Michel Moawad or propose a new candidate who Moawad can agree with so we can proceed as there are no serious names of the same specifications."
Deputy Michel Moawad confirmed that "the struggle for justice and accountability is the foundation of our political battle." He added: "The battle we are waging inside parliament is political par excellence, and we will not accept a 'gray' president; the port explosion case is fundamental in this struggle because a gray president will go back to covering up issues and we will return to where we were."
Deputy Adib Abd al-Masih pointed out: "We want justice for the victims and for all crimes, and the battle has become a political one par excellence to confront the obstructive system." In turn, Deputy Razi Al-Haj of the Strong Republic emphasized that "the port explosion is a central issue that cannot be viewed as secondary; the most important question is who releases the investigation and allows the judicial investigator to act? This is where the path to justice begins."
