In a televised address, the Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri said that Lebanon needs “to elect a president as soon as possible”, reports Al Jazeera.
“It should unify all of us. It is a test so that we can protect Lebanon from all the threats including Israeli threats,” the speaker said.
The country has been without a president since the term of former head of state Michel Aoun ended in October 2022. The parliament has repeatedly failed to elect a successor, deepening tensions in a country facing a severe economic and political crisis.
“The only thing which would keep us all together is to protect Lebanon, so we can overcome this challenge and be stronger,” Berri said.
“And also to demonstrate and show to the world that it is a country that can coexist with its different spiritual components, in contradiction with the racism of Israel,” he added.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
