BEIRUT — Facing international pressure to elect a new president for Lebanon, some political parties in Beirut are suspicious of what they call a dubious request.

These political parties are requesting, first and foremost, that parliamentary elections be held. They seem assured of their stance from a legal and constitutional standpoint. They also seem certain that the confrontation between their own demands and the international ones to elect a president will end up favoring their side and Lebanon will resist caving to international pressure.

A parliamentary official in the Change and Reform Bloc, the largest Christian parliamentary bloc in the Lebanese parliament, explained the details of the situation to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity: “First is the demand to give priority to the parliamentary rather than presidential elections, right? In Lebanon, the president is elected indirectly. The Lebanese people do not elect the president directly, rather through parliamentary elections. They elect the parliament, which in turn elects the president. Therefore, the parliament is empowered by the people.”

The source continued, “Under the current circumstances, there is a huge legal imbalance in this equation. … The legal mandate of the current parliament expired more than two years ago, specifically since June 20, 2013. The parliament did not continue its duties in this abnormal situation because the Lebanese people re-elected it, but rather because most of these parliament members decided to extend their own term for four full years under the pretext that the security situation in the country does not allow holding new parliamentary elections. This is how the public legitimacy of the current parliament was challenged. Moreover, the presidential vacuum happened after the end of the parliament’s term. When the Lebanese people elected the current parliamentarians, they were not tasked with electing a president. Their public and representative mandate did not allow them to elect a president, as their parliamentary term was supposed to end on June 20, 2013. The election of a new president was scheduled to take place on March or May 25, 2014, according to the constitution. Therefore, parliamentary elections should precede presidential elections and as per democratic logic, parliament members whose term has ended shouldn’t be voting for a president. The priority is to hold parliamentary elections that renew the Lebanese parliament and grant its new members legitimate constitutional power to elect a new president for the republic.”