Lebanese MPs Hold Sit-In Inside Parliament

Lebanese parliament session fails to elect a president for the republic (EPA)
Lebanese parliament session fails to elect a president for the republic (EPA)
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Lebanese MPs Hold Sit-In Inside Parliament

Lebanese parliament session fails to elect a president for the republic (EPA)
Lebanese parliament session fails to elect a president for the republic (EPA)

After Lebanon’s parliament failed to elect a new president for the 11th time on Thursday, several deputies decided to stage a sit-in, with lawmakers Melhem Khalaf and Najat Saliba leading the protest.

Later, lawmakers Firas Hamdan and Cynthia Zarazir joined the sit-in at parliament.

The move was supported by a number of opposition deputies, including the Lebanese Kataeb party, whose head, MP Sami Gemayel, said: “We are studying the move and we may join it at any time.”

Contacts began with other deputies and blocs with the aim of expanding the circle of participation.

“My constitutional responsibility, and in compliance with what the articles of the constitution impose on me, I will remain inside the parliament hall with deputy Najat Saliba, and we will not leave it until the session is kept open for successive sessions to elect a president and save democracy,” said Khalaf in his address to parliamentarians.

This is in protest to the failure to elect a president for the 11th time in almost 3 months. Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun’s tenure ended on October, 30, 2022.

In a press conference from inside the parliament, Khalaf said that the parliament should be holding nonstop sessions until the president is elected.

Khalaf and Saliba decided to stay in parliament hall in the dark with the electricity turned off in the afternoon, while a few deputies were keen to stay with them to support them and secure what they needed.

Among the deputies who stayed behind to support Khalaf and Saliba was MP Wadah al-Sadiq.

“There is great support for the decision to sit-in in the parliament, and what we demand is nothing but the implementation of the constitution, which stipulates keeping the election sessions open,” al-Sadiq told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“The tense political situation in Lebanon needs a different initiative, and what we are working on today is to communicate with the blocs to secure the broadest participation,” he added.



EU's Kallas Says Gaza Situation 'Unacceptable'

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for the weekly College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for the weekly College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
TT
20

EU's Kallas Says Gaza Situation 'Unacceptable'

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for the weekly College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas arrives for the weekly College of Commissioners meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday that she told Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that the situation in Gaza is "unacceptable".

"Yesterday I also talked to Foreign Minister Saar ...what is happening, why are you doing this. And I mean, also conveying the message that this is unacceptable," she told reporters in Brussels.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also said on Wednesday that the resumption of fighting in the war between Israel and Hamas threatens the peace efforts of Arab states.

"The resumption of fighting ... jeopardizes the positive efforts of the Arab states, which together want to pursue a peaceful path for Gaza, free from Hamas," Baerbock said in a statement, calling for great restraint from all sides.

She spoke ahead of her trip to Lebanon to discuss the conflict.

Israel carried out more airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday, a day after shattering nearly two months of relative calm since a ceasefire began and killing over 400 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.