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REPORTING. Faced with the obstruction of Hezbollah, the country of the Cedars has not been able to obtain a head of state for 8 months. A case that goes beyond the Lebanese borders.
From our special envoy to Lebanon, Armin Arefi
© Marwan Tahtah for Le Point
Published on
Reading time: 13 mins
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I’hemicycle is plunged into darkness. The electricity is cut off and the main door is locked. Only two elected officials defied the ban by taking a hidden exit. Securely installed in their seats, Najat Aoun and Melhem Khalaf continue despite everything their work in the deserted Parliament. At nightfall, they take over one of the national representation lounges to camp there, before leaving the premises in the early morning.
The two deputies have taken up residence inside the Assembly since October 31, 2022 and the official end of the mandate of the President of the Republic Michel Aoun. “It’s heavy on a daily basis, but when you are faced with so much helplessness, you have to do something”, explains Melhem Khalaf, elected in Beirut in 2022 on the list of change. “We demand the…