Speaker Berri Postpones President Election Session till October 20

House Speaker Nabih Berri adjourned the second parliamentary session aimed at electing a new president held early Thursday due to lack of quorum, calling for a third session next Thursday, October 20, at 11 a.m.

The parliament convened on September 29 for the presidential elections. The first session did not lead to a new president as 63 lawmaker cast a blank ballot and the rest of the 122 parliamentarians voted for different candidates.

The votes of two-thirds of lawmakers in the 128-member legislature are required for a candidate to be successful in the first round of voting, after which a simple majority suffices. President Michel Aoun’s six-year term ends on October 31.