Lebanon’s latest presidential vacancy has now rumbled on for six months, with the Baabda Palace sitting empty since ex-army chief Michel Aoun left the official residence for his home in Rabieh.
So acrimonious is the divide in the 128-seat parliament that speaker Nabih Berri has stopped even scheduling sessions to elect a new president since the 11th attempt failed in January. Thus far, no party or coalition has come anywhere near to breaching the threshold required in the legislature, where no group holds a majority.
So the question is, when will the once-regular electoral sessions resume?
Mr Berri, the long-serving speaker who is also leader of the Amal Movement, insists MPs are not taking the election seriously and that he is waiting for serious candidates to declare their candidacy before reopening parliament's doors.
Two months ago the Amal Movement and its Shiite ally Hezbollah, the highly influential Lebanese armed group and political party, officially declared their support for Suleiman Frangieh, a close ally of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, and scion of a prominent political family.
An aide to Mr Berri suggested to The National at the time that a presidential session could be held once Mr Frangieh formally declared his candidacy.
Yet, two months on, MPs have not been called back to parliament even though Mr Frangieh has clearly signalled his interest and extolled his strengths.
Mr Berri’s failure to summon the MPs has been strongly criticised by some.
“With all my respect to Mr Berri, but this is not his job. He is not a jury waiting to see if this person qualifies for president or not. His job is the speaker,” said a source within the Lebanese Forces, parliament’s largest party, which is deeply opposed to Hezbollah.
“It’s not his job to see if this person is serious or not.”
The source accused Mr Berri of delaying the reconvening parliament to use the time to boost Mr Frangieh’s chances.
Mr Berri recently said he has no Plan B, only a Plan A, with the candidacy of Mr Frangieh.
In Lebanon’s confessional political system, the office of president is reserved for a Maronite Christian, parliamentary speaker for a Shiite Muslim and prime minister for a Sunni Muslim.
In the first round of voting, a two-thirds majority — or 86 seats ― is required for a president to be anointed. An absolute majority is needed in subsequent ballots in the same session, according to Mr Berri’s decision — although so far they have been abandoned for a lack of quorum, as Hezbollah and its allies left the room.
The latter have thus far almost always cast blank ballots, although there have been no sessions since Hezbollah and Amal publicly backed Mr Frangieh.
Another candidate, Michel Moawad, has received support from about a third of MPs, mainly from those deeply opposed to Hezbollah — including the Lebanese Forces. But the number of MPs supporting him has stagnated and, if anything, begun to fall.
Calls for dialogue to resolve the impasse, often in the guise of establishing a "consensus" candidate, are continuing. One of the latest is from Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab, who has met several political figures including Hezbollah’s parliamentary leader Mohammad Raad, Lebanese Forces' chief Samir Geagea, Kataeb Party’s Samy Gemayel and Maronite Patriach Bechara Al Rahi.
It is understood that Mr Bou Saab’s initiative is strictly a personal one, that he is not acting on behalf of his Free Patriotic Movement party and not as an emissary of Mr Berri.
And while parliament’s two largest Christian parties — the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement — disagree on almost everything, they are united by their opposition to Mr Frangieh, depriving him of support from most Christian MPs.
Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil, also widely believed to have his own designs to succeed his father-in-law as president, and Mr Geagea have both said Lebanon’s next head of state cannot be elected without the support of Christian parties.
So for now, the impasse remains as opposing factions trade barbs while the efforts to fill the void continue.
Following Mr Bou Saab’s meeting with Mr Geagea this week, the Lebanese Forces' source said there was “no insight when [parliament] will convene again”.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
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Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
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'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The view from The National
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
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Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
