The parliamentary session held on Tuesday to elect the Chamber’s Bureau and its committees was quickly overshadowed by the main concern of the Lebanese today: the fear of Lebanon’s involvement in the deadly war between the Hamas movement and Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Opposition MPs seized the opportunity of the parliamentary meeting to express their clear position on this matter. According to a statement read by MP Achraf Rifi (Renewal) before the session, the opposition blocs refused “to be drawn into war, stressing that Lebanon should not be dragged into destruction and adventures that are not in its interest.” They also rejected any form of “control over Lebanon’s sovereignty and over the decision of war or peace.”
The opposition also highlighted the urgency of electing a president. It’s worth noting that such an election would have been possible on that Tuesday since 96 MPs attended the session.
The opposition’s attempt to have the Parliament vote on a recommendation that summarizes the main positions expressed in the statement did not succeed. Nevertheless, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri pointed out that the current session is dedicated to the election of the Bureau and committees and that he may call for another session specifically to discuss the situation in southern Lebanon and Gaza.
During a meeting with the heads and rapporteurs of the committees after the session, Berri also asked, “In light of what is happening in the region and the escalation of the Israeli aggression against Palestine, Gaza, and Lebanon, do we have the opportunity to elect a President of the Republic?”
To return to the statement read by Rifi, the opposition blocs reminded that “our homeland has paid a heavy price in the recent and distant past because of regional conflicts, which have led to the disintegration of its institutions and the exodus of a large part of its population.”
The MPs stated that Lebanon, “through its army and military forces, has the constitutional right to defend every inch and every citizen of Lebanese territory in the event of an attack.”
In addition, they conveyed solidarity with the Palestinian people, “once again victims of bloodshed, exodus, and inhumane destruction,” and called on the international community “to exert maximum pressure to stop the crimes, implement all international resolutions, and find a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.”
Within this context, the opposition MPs called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the land-for-peace principle, as stipulated in the Arab Peace Initiative announced during the 2002 Beirut Summit.
The Parliament then proceeded to the election of its five-member Bureau and the members and presidents of its 14 committees, as it is required to do every year at the start of its regular October session, which begins on the first Tuesday after October 15. This election of the Parliament’s legislative committees is provided for in Article 44 of the Constitution and the Parliament’s internal regulations.
Unsurprisingly, the members of the Chamber’s Bureau were automatically reelected. The members in question are Alain Aoun, Hadi Aboulhosn (secretaries), Michel Moussa, Hagop Pakradounian, and Abdelkarim Kabbara (commissioners).
While members of the Finance and Budget Committee were also reelected, MP Halimé Kaakour (Change) surprised everyone by applying to become a member of the Administration and Justice Committee.
The MPs voted on her candidacy, and Kaakour received 23 votes out of 96 votes cast, failing to get elected. She reapplied for the Education Committee, and in order to avoid a lengthy vote, MP Ghassan Skaff “sacrificed” his seat on the committee and offered it to her.
For the other committees, the composition remained unchanged. The seats of Rami Finge and Firas Salloum (who lost their parliamentary seats on November 24 last year following the acceptance by the Constitutional Council of two appeals to invalidate the results of parliamentary elections in Tripoli) in the committees they were members of were filled by Haidar Nasser (foreign affairs), Jamil Abboud (public works), and Charbel Massaad (health).
Furthermore, Ziad Hawat replaced his FL bloc colleague Fadi Karam on the Defense Committee, and Waddah Sadek replaced Michel Daher on the Economy Committee.
Will the Parliament, having fulfilled its electoral duty this Tuesday, soon take on another, far more urgent electoral mission: ending the presidential vacancy? For many MPs and most Lebanese people, the top priority now is to spare this country from a devastating war.
Read more
