LEBANESE PM CALLS FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION- Mikati calls election for ‘Consensus President’ after 2 year vacuum
Lebanon’s leading politicians have begun a renewed bid to fill a two-year-long presidential vacuum, an effort to revive the state as it grapples with the escalating conflict with Israel.
Lebanon has not had a president or a fully empowered cabinet since October 2022 due to a power struggle in which Hezbollah has played a big part.
Parliament Speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri has said to Prime Minister Najib Mikati he supports the election of a president who doesn’t represent “a challenge” to anyone.
The presidency is decided by a vote in Lebanon’s 128-seat parliament.
Following a meeting on Wednesday with Berri and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, Mikati read a joint statement calling for the election of a “consensus president who will reassure everyone and dispel their concerns”.
The statement did not name any candidates.
