Lebanon elections 2022: when will parliament get to work and what happens next?

All your questions about the new parliament answered

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  An electoral worker sits next to ballot boxes, at the Justice Palace, in Jdeideh. Reuters

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  A soldier stands guard as ballots are counted at the Justice Palace. Reuters

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  Jad Ghosn, an opposition candidate, gestures as people wait for the announcement of official election results, in Jdeideh. Reuters

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  Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi announces the final results for some districts. EPA

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  Opposition candidate Yassin Yassin gestures as he is greeted by supporters in Jeb Jennin, West Bekaa. Reuters

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  Supporters of the Lebanese Forces take to the streets during parliamentary elections in the Ashrafieh district of Beirut. Bloomberg

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  Lebanon headed to the polls with its economy in the grip of hyperinflation. Bloomberg

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  Lebanese youths supporting Hezbollah and Amal movement wave their party flags after parliamentary elections in a suburb of Beirut. EPA

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  Supporters of Lebanon's Shiite groups Hezbollah and Amal lift their flags during a motorbike rally after voting. AFP

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  Children swim in an inflatable pool that supporters of former prime minister Saad Hariri installed to illustrate their intention to boycott parliamentary elections in Beirut, Lebanon. AP Photo

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  Voters queue to place their vote in parliamentary elections in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA

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  Nabih Berri, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, stands in a polling booth to vote in Tebnin. Reuters

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  Voters register at a polling station in Beirut. Bloomberg

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  Lebanese President Michel Aoun follows the parliamentary elections on screens from the Presidential Palace in Beirut. AP

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  A Lebanese woman shows her inked finger after she cast her vote at a polling station in Beirut. AP

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  Voters look at a list of candidates at a polling station in Beirut. Bloomberg

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  Lebanese policemen help a voter into a polling station in Beirut. AP

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  A Lebanese voter casts her ballot paper in Beirut. EPA

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  Gyorgy Holvenyi (R), chief observer of the European Union election observation mission, visits a polling station in Beirut. EPA

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  Lebanese people wait to vote during parliamentary elections in the capital city. EPA

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  Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, Grand Mufti of Lebanon, casts his ballot paper during parliamentary elections in Beirut. EPA

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  People queue to cast their votes in the Lebanese capital. AP

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  Posters in Al Tariq Al Jadida, Beirut, depict Lebanon’s former prime minister Saad Hariri. Reuters

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  A woman prepares her ballot at a polling station in a southern suburb of Beirut. AFP

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  Former prime minister Hassan Diab, who succeeded Saad Hariri, casts his ballot in Beirut. AFP

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  A voter checks lists for the parliamentary election at a polling station in the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP

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  A woman waits to vote in Beirut. EPA

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  Security forces stand guard at Nur Square on the southern entrance of the northern Lebanese port city Tripoli. AFP

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  Former Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora casts his vote at a polling station during the parliamentary election, in Sidon, southern Lebanon. Reuters

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  A man check voters' lists in the capital Beirut. AP

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  A woman votes in Lebanon's parliamentary elections in Beirut. AP

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  Police check the ID of voters outside a polling station near the Lebanese coastal city of Byblos (Jbeil), north of Beirut. AFP

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  A voter dips her finger in ink after casting her ballot in the parliamentary election at a polling station near Byblos. AFP

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  A Lebanese woman shows her ink-marked thumb after voting in Shmustar, Bekaa valley. EPA

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  People queueing to vote at Ras El Nabeh Public School for Girls. Fatima Al Mahmoud/ The National

The Lebanese voted on Sunday for 128 legislators in the first parliamentary election since the country’s economic collapse, one of the world's largest non-nuclear explosions in recent history and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Interior Ministry announced final results on Tuesday. Allies of Iran-backed Hezbollah lost several seats, 13 new opposition figures were voted in, and a handful of veteran pro-Syrian politicians were pushed out. Lebanon’s two rival Christian parties are expected to engage in a fierce struggle over power.

This new polarised parliament has a difficult task ahead. Lebanon urgently needs an IMF bail-out, but to get it, legislators must agree and vote in a significant number of reform laws that previous parliaments have failed to do.

Here is a breakdown of what to expect in the coming weeks from the new parliament.

When does parliament get to work?

The new parliament’s mandate starts on May 22. Legislators will then have 15 days to hold a session to elect a new parliament speaker and a deputy. The constitution stipulates that the session will be convened by the oldest legislator, with veteran parliament speaker Nabih Berri, 84, the most likely candidate.

Who can be parliament speaker?

Lebanon’s 1943 National Pact dictates that the parliament speaker is always a Shiite Muslim. That is because of the nature of the country’s sectarian politics. Confessional groups are guaranteed certain state positions or quotas.

Lebanon has had the same parliament speaker since 1992, when it organised its first post-civil war elections. That incumbent, Mr Berri, heads the Amal movement, a political party that is Iran-backed Hezbollah’s main ally in Lebanon.

While Hezbollah is labelled a terrorist organisation in several countries abroad, Mr Berri is widely viewed as having good relations with the US and with western-backed Lebanese political parties, including the Druze Progressive Socialist Party and the now-defunct, but previously influential Sunni Muslim Future Movement.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, March 14, 2022. EPA

How does voting work?

There is no official way to present one’s candidacy for the job of parliament speaker. For the person to be elected in the first round, he or she must receive an absolute majority of the votes cast, or 65 votes. Blank votes are not registered.

If no one is elected, there is a second vote. A third and final round is possible, and the winner is the person with the highest number of votes. Voting is secret.

Will Nabih Berri be re-elected?

This is the million-dollar question. There is no clear alternative to Mr Berri. All 27 Shiite MPs elected on Sunday are affiliated to either Hezbollah or Amal.

Blocs have not yet been formed in the new parliament, but a preliminary analysis of its composition indicates that Hezbollah, Amal and allies control 59 seats. They are highly likely to vote for Mr Berri.

The Progressive Socialist Party’s eight MPs are also expected to vote for him as a result of his long-standing personal friendship with the party’s Druze leader, Walid Joumblatt. If they do, that would represent about 67 votes in total and would be enough to secure him a win at the first round.

Those who are expected to vote against Mr Berri include the Christian Lebanese Forces and their allies (21 seats), opposition figures (13 seats), and Christian party Kataeb (five seats). The votes of the remaining independent MPs is up in the air.

Although they might not be able to unseat him, those opposed to Mr Berri may cast blank votes to express their discontent, said constitutional expert Wissam Lahham. “That would mean that he would win in the third round with 50 or 60 votes,” he said.

In the unlikely event that Mr Berri is not re-elected, Lebanon is expected to face major social unrest, Mr Lahham said. Amal supporters are often involved in violent altercations. They stopped an opposition rally from convening in one of their strongholds in south Lebanon in April with gunshots and beatings.

What about the parliament speaker's deputy?

The job of deputy speaker of parliament is an influential role and is always held by a Greek Orthodox Christian. Elie Ferzli, who was first elected MP in 1992, became deputy speaker after the previous parliamentary election, in 2018. But he was not re-elected this year.

Mr Ferzli was often ridiculed on social media after nationwide protests in October 2019 for his quick temper. In February 2021 he threatened to expel the World Bank regional director, Saroj Kumar Jha, and seemingly intentionally mispronounced his name in an attempt at ridicule after Mr Jha rebuked MPs for skipping the queue and receiving Covid-19 vaccines early.

“The focus now is on this job,” said Jean Tawile, a member of Kataeb’s political office. Mr Ferzli could be replaced by either Melhem Khalaf, an opposition figure and former head of the Beirut Bar Association, former health minister Ghassan Hasbani, from the Lebanese Forces, or former defence minister Elias Bou Saab, who is close to the presidency.

“It’s an important role in the sense that the deputy speaker presides [over] all parliamentary commissions and joint commissions,” Mr Tawile said.

What is parliament going to do?

In addition to voting in laws, parliament will be responsible for approving a new prime minister, who is chosen, usually, after months of back-door negotiations. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s economy is expected to further deteriorate. Parliament’s approval is normally a formality because political parties have agreed on a prime minister by then.

The current government’s last meeting will be on Friday at 2.30pm. It will be headed by President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace. It will then become a caretaker government.

Later this year, parliament will elect a new president. Mr Aoun, 88, has been pushing for his son-in-law and political heir, MP Gebran Bassil. Mr Aoun's mandate ends on October 31.

But his Christian rivals, the western-backed Lebanese Forces, obtained more seats than Mr Bassil’s party in the last election. They are expected to fiercely oppose his nomination.

Choosing a president can take months, even years.