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Lebanese lawmakers re-elected Nabih Berri as parliament speaker Tuesday for a seventh consecutive term, cementing the octogenarian politician’s reputation as an immovable centrepiece of the country’s political landscape.
Berri’s candidacy went largely unchallenged but the 84-year-old clinched only the bare minimum number of votes needed for a win – one of his lowest counts since he first rose to the helm of Lebanon’s parliament 30 years ago.
During the new parliament’s first session on Tuesday, Berri won 65 votes in the 128-member parliament, where the role of speaker is reserved for a Shiite Muslim under the country’s widely criticised sectarian political system.
Berri, who leads the Shiite Amal Movement, has held the role of speaker since 1992 and is a close ally of Hezbollah, earning him a moniker as an “untouchable” political figure.
The aging Shiite politician is widely viewed as the embodiment of a system that has spawned political paralysis, economic collapse, and the sort of rampant mismanagement that enabled the 2020 Beirut port explosion.
Lebanon’s new parliament, elected on May 15, includes 13 independent politicians and members of some Christian parties who vowed not to vote for Berri as speaker.
Some lawmakers on Tuesday spoilt their ballots by writing slogans blaming the ruling class that Berri embodies for the country’s successive crises. But although Hezbollah and its allies lost their majority in parliament, Berri was the heavyweight candidate for a post reserved for a Shiite Muslim.
In his address to parliament, Berri acknowledged the frustrations with the country’s political system and vowed to work to heal the divisions.
“I will put the insults behind me… and approach blank ballots with a blank heart,” Berri said after his victory, in one of his trademark quips.
He said he would extend…
Source : france24
