After the failure of the parliament to elect a new Head of State for six times in a row, Kataeb Leader Samy Gemayel re-raised the issue of quorum disruption which is not even mentioned in the Constitution.

Before voting in the sixth presidential elections session, Gemayel requested a clarification from the Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri regarding the constitutional article on which he relied on to calculate the quorum.

“Article 49 of the Lebanese Constitution does not stipulate the quorum of the session but rather the voting by two-thirds in the first round and half plus one in the second round,” he said.

He pointed out that in other constitutional articles, the legislator mentions the quorum if he wants so, while in article 49 no quorum for the first and second sessions is mentioned. 

“Based on our parliamentary responsibility, we hope to interpret the Constitution and open the debate in the Parliament. If we remain like this, we will not witness the election of a President in the future,” he added.

The Kataeb Leader hoped to discuss this point with Berri calmly, objectively, constitutionally and scientifically. 

In conclusion, Gemayel considered that the manner in which the debate on this issue was concluded in the fifth presidential elections session, was inappropriate and unacceptable.