Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri opens the 12th parliamentary session to elect a new president in the capital Beirut's downtown district on June 14, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

BEIRUT - Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday called for a national dialogue to facilitate the election of a new president after the parliament failed for the 12th time to pick a head of state.

Lebanon has been suffering from an unprecedented financial crisis. The country urgently needs to elect a president and form a new cabinet to implement the necessary reforms and put the country on the path of recovery

"The election of a new president will only be achieved through a consensus by adopting the path of dialogue within the framework of the Lebanese constitution and in a way that would preserve partnerships among different political parties."

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The Lebanese parliament on Wednesday failed to elect a new president during its 12th session in the presidential race between Sleiman Frangieh, leader of the Marada Movement, supported by the two Shiite parties Hezbollah and Amal Movement, and Jihad Azour, a former finance minister, backed by the country's two biggest Christian parties, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese forces.

Neither of the two candidates obtained a two-thirds majority or a total of 86 votes during the first voting, while the second round was not held because of a lack of quorum.

Lebanon failed to elect a president since October 2022 when the term of former president Michel Aoun ended.

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Lebanon has been suffering from an unprecedented financial crisis. The country urgently needs to elect a president and form a new cabinet to implement the necessary reforms and put the country on the path of recovery.