Kataeb MP Salim Sayegh emphasized Lebanon’s need to focus on electing a president, asserting that this step is crucial for the country to confront its pressing challenges amid a mounting internal displacement crisis. Speaking after a parliamentary session on the issue of mass displacement, Sayegh stressed that the energy devoted to discussing displacement could have been better directed toward electing a president, a priority he sees as essential to re-establishing Lebanon’s constitutional order.

“The country cannot withstand current challenges without organized and functional institutions,” said Sayegh. “The first step towards restoring institutional order lies in the election of a president who is capable of managing both the governance crisis and the repercussions of the ongoing conflict.”

He noted that a coordinated ceasefire is urgently needed to control the ongoing displacement, which has been steadily increasing since clashes began in southern Lebanon on October 8 last year.

"This situation should have been stopped, addressed, or managed with a specific emergency plan. Yet in Lebanon, there is an entrenched culture of denial," he lamented. “We cannot stand by as citizens from the South or Dahieh are displaced without any plan in place."

Despite some local responses, including efforts by political forces, municipalities, and communities across the country, he urged lawmakers to take minimal responsibility for managing the displacement impact on communities.

"It is time for us, as MPs, to shoulder at least some responsibility regarding the repercussions of a war in which we are not legally involved; no one consulted us on it, nor were we asked for our opinion," he noted. "However, our duty is national and humanitarian solidarity with our fellow citizens to organize the displacement process, as it could continue for weeks or even months."

Citing recent Statistics, Sayegh pointed out that approximately 900,000 to 1.5 million people have been displaced due to recent conflicts, adding to the Syrian refugees who fled alongside Lebanese citizens from targeted areas. Sayegh cautioned that international assistance should focus exclusively on Lebanese displaced people, noting, “If Syrian refugees in Lebanon can no longer sustain themselves, the border is open. They can return to Syria, as 300,000 have already done.”

Sayegh also urged the application of existing laws concerning displaced persons and local residents, underlining the role municipalities must play in organizing displaced individuals’ work permits to prevent unregulated labor within specific master plans.

"Municipalities do not have the legal authority to discriminate between Lebanese citizens but can enforce a general plan that everyone—residents and displaced persons alike—must adhere to, in line with applicable laws."

Sayegh described the atmosphere during the parliamentary session as “highly responsible,” with a significant degree of “rationality, camaraderie, and goodwill” among the MPs, all of whom were aware of the national tragedy pushing for this urgent discussion. Sayegh expressed hope that this same sense of duty would extend to those reluctant to attend the presidential election sessions, so that a president may be elected to oversee Lebanon’s transition from catastrophe to a post-crisis phase.