Berri is re-elected for a seventh term as head of the Lebanese Parliament

MADRID, 31 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, has been re-elected this Tuesday for a seventh term at the head of the legislative body, after the parliamentary elections held on May 15 in the Asian country.

According to the information collected by the Lebanese newspaper 'L'Orient le Jour', Berri has obtained 65 of the 128 possible votes in the first round after obtaining the support of his party, AMAL, the Shiite militia party Hezbollah, Tachnag, Marada and independent linked to their training.

However, the vote has been marked by the elimination of 40 votes that contained messages asking for justice for the victims of the explosions of August 4, 2020 in the port of Beirut, which left more than 200 dead and enormous material damage, as well as for 23 blank ballots.

In his first statements after his re-election, the historical Shia political leader has thanked those who have shown him their support. "In the face of blank votes, we reach out to save Lebanon", he declared, before warning against "the weapon of the blockade", which is "a great crime".

"The Lebanese and the rest of the world see you as a beacon of hope, possibly the only one," Berri told parliamentarians. "We all live if Lebanon lives," she said, before asking the parliamentarians "let the disagreements and competition be to achieve the best for Lebanon and the Lebanese."

After that, Berri met at the Baabda Palace with the President of Lebanon, Michel Aoun, a formal meeting after his re-election in which they discussed the possibility of binding parliamentary consultations to elect the country's next Prime Minister. Nayib Mikati is currently acting Prime Minister after the elections.

Berri himself stated after the elections that he would respect the decision on his possible successor, after several parties that showed their rejection of him continuing in the position he has held since 1992 increased their weight in Parliament after the setback of Hezbollah and its allies in the elections, in which they lost the absolute majority.

The Christian parties Lebanese Forces and the FMP of Aoun, as well as several opposition parliamentarians, had shown their rejection of Berri remaining in office. In fact, the leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, stressed that the president of Parliament "must have very obvious characteristics that do not apply to Berri."

On the other hand, the parliamentarian Elias Bu Saab, of the Free Patriotic Movement (FMP), has been elected as vice president of Parliament after obtaining 65 votes, by beating Ghasán Skaf, backed by the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), who has obtained 60 support, as reported by the Lebanese news portal Naharnet.

"This is true democracy and I thank everyone who voted for me," said Bu Saab, who has asked to "forget everything that happened" to "enter with a new mentality and work with everyone." "Everyone has called for reforms and in my meeting with Berri I have promised that there are many issues that we must work on," he concluded.

The elections are considered key to the future of the country, mired in a very serious political and economic crisis aggravated by the August 2020 explosions in the port of Beirut and the coronavirus pandemic, which have left part of the population mired in poverty. and in the face of power outages and rising prices of basic products.