Berri: There Will Be No Session To Elect A New President Before The Approval Of IMF Reforms

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said on Saturday he will not call a session to elect a new president until the parliament approves reforms that are preconditions for an International Monetary Fund bailout program, according to Reuters news agency.
A deal with the International Monetary Fund is the only way for Lebanon to recover from a financial meltdown that plunged the country into its most destabilizing crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
President Michel Aoun’s six-year term ends on October 31, and senior politicians have expressed concern about not finding a successor, warning of a larger institutional stalemate in light of the absence of a government.
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Berri said during a meeting with journalists at his residence in Beirut in statements confirmed by his office to Reuters that he will not ask for a session to elect a president until after the approval of the reform laws required by the International Monetary Fund.
He added that Parliament should work to pass the reform laws in August, pointing to the urgent need for these measures.
Berri, who has been in office for nearly 30 years, said on Friday that forming a government any time soon would be a “miracle”. He did not give details.
Under the constitution, the president issues a decree appointing a new prime minister based on binding consultations with members of parliament and must co-sign any new government.
Lebanon reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund in April on a $3 billion rescue program, but the full agreement is conditional on passing laws including capital controls, the banking restructuring law and the 2022 budget.
The Lebanese Constitution stipulates that the Speaker of the Parliament must be called to the parliament session “at least one month and two months at most before the end of the President’s term of office.”
According to the constitution, in the event that this does not happen, the Council meets automatically on the tenth day preceding the expiry of the term.Aoun came to power after a presidential vacuum that lasted for 29 months, during which Parliament was unable to agree on the election of a president. Aoun is restricted to one term in office, and the major political parties have not announced that any agreement has been reached on the person who will replace him.