Forty-six deputies announced today that they will not participate in any legislative session before electing a president and will not recognize any of its laws, exercising any right granted to them by the constitution to challenge it.

This came in an issued statement regarding the legislative session expected to take place in the upcoming week.

The members of parliament underlined their keenness on the legislative authority and affirmed their absolute commitment to Articles 49, 74, and 75 of the Constitution, “which expressly stipulate that when the presidency becomes vacant, the Parliament Council becomes an electoral body that is continuously convened, existing de jure and by law, exclusively for the purpose of electing a President of the Republic.”

The statement continued to indicate that managing the affairs of citizens and activating the work of constitutional institutions lies not through prolonging the vacuum in the presidency of the republic or normalizing with it and trying to organize it via unconstitutional mechanisms and means, but rather by electing a president immediately.

“Persevering in holding sessions by a resigned government and heading towards holding legislative sessions by the Parliament Council in the absence of a President of the Republic, actually perpetuates a reality that is contrary to the constitution and shows the possibility of running the state without the need for a head of state, which affects the spirit of the Taif Agreement and the foundations of our democratic system,” the deputies cautioned in their statement.

“The risks of the presidential vacuum in light of this dramatic and fatal collapse of the economic, social and humanitarian situation, threaten the fall of the Lebanese state, and with it the homeland! People are waiting for us, and they are waiting for us to elect a rescue president…and history is awaiting us for this exceptional event, and we want to be up to the great responsibilities that we bear, and up to the trust that we carry and the hopes of the people who elected us!” the deputies underscored.

The statement was signed by the following 46 members of parliament:

Melhem Khalaf, Najat Saliba, Paula Yacoubian, Michel Douaihy, Firas Hamdan, Ibrahim Mneimneh, Yassin Yassin, Elias Jaradeh, Halima Kaakour, Wadah Al-Sadiq, Mark Daou, Charbel Massaad, Sami Gemayel, Nadim Gemayel, Elias Hankash, Salim Al-Sayegh, Michel Moawad, Fouad Makhzoumi, Ashraf Rifi, Adeeb Abel-Massih, Neemat Frem, Jamil Abboud, Ghassan Skaf, Ihab Matar, George Adwan, Strida Geagea, Ghassan Hasbani, George Okais, Fadi Karam, Saeed Al-Asmar, Nazih Matta, Camille Chamoun, Ghayath Yazbeck, Razi Al-Hajj, Melhem Riachy, Shawky Daccache, Antoine Habshi, Elias Stephan, Pierre Bou Assi, Ziad Hawat, Elie Khoury, Ghada Ayoub, Jihad Pakradouni, Michel Al-Daher, Jean Talouzian and Abdel-Rahman Al-Bizri.

Source: National News Agency