{{Short description|Parliamentary bloc in the Lebanese parliament}} The '''Independent Consultative Gathering''' or '''Independent Parliamentary Consultative Gathering''' is a parliamentary bloc in the [[Lebanese parliament]] formed in 2024 by four former members of the [[Free Patriotic Movement]]'s [[Strong Lebanon]] bloc—[[Elias Bou Saab]], [[Alain Aoun]], [[Ibrahim Kanaan]], and [[Simon Abi Ramia]].<ref>{{cite web |title=MPs expelled from FPM may form new parliamentary bloc |url=https://m.naharnet.com/stories/en/307395-mps-expelled-from-fpm-may-form-new-parliamentary-bloc |website=Naharnet |access-date=17 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Gemayel meets Independent Parliamentary Consultative Gathering MPs |url=https://www.mtv.com.lb/en/News/Local/1530002/gemayel-meets-independent-parliamentary-consultative-gathering-mps |website=MTV |access-date=17 January 2025}}</ref>
== Background == Since [[Gebran Bassil]] became leader of the [[Free Patriotic Movement]] in 2015, the party has seen a number of resignations and expulsions of senior members. In 2022 the party expelled MPs [[Mario Aoun]] and Ziad Aswad over disputes amidst the [[2022 Lebanese general election|parliamentary elections]]. In March 2024, [[Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon|Deputy Speaker of Parliament]] [[Elias Bou Saab]], an [[Independent politician|independent]] member of the FPM's parliamentary bloc, was expelled from the bloc over disputes relating to the parliamentary elections and the [[2022–2025 Lebanese presidential election]]. In August 2024, the FPM expelled MP [[Alain Aoun]], the nephew of party founder [[Michel Aoun]], and that same month [[Ibrahim Kanaan]] and [[Simon Abi Ramia]] announced their resignations from the party, citing disagreement's with Bassil's leadership style.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jadah |first1=Malek |title=FPM has lost a dozen prominent members under Bassil — who are they and what happened? |url=https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1425370/fpm-has-lost-a-dozen-prominent-members-under-bassil-who-are-they-and-what-happened.html |website=L'Orient Today |date=30 August 2024 |access-date=17 January 2025}}</ref> The four MPs went on to form the Independent Consultative Gathering bloc.
In the January 2025 parliamentary consultations, the bloc, except for Elias Bou Saab, nominated [[Nawaf Salam]] for [[Prime Minister of Lebanon|Prime Minister]].<ref>{{cite web |title="Independent Consultative Gathering" bloc names Nawaf Salam for premiership |url=https://nna-leb.gov.lb/en/politics/751780/independent-consultative-gathering-bloc-names-naw |website=National News Agency |access-date=17 January 2025}}</ref>
Aoun, Kanaan, and Abi Ramia all backed local lists in their regions against the FPM in the [[2025 Lebanese municipal elections|2025 municipal elections]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Abi Akl |first1=Yara |title=In Mount Lebanon, former FPM MPs score a point against their old party |url=https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1458907/in-mount-lebanon-former-fpm-mps-score-a-point-against-their-old-party.html |website=L'Orient Today |date=6 May 2025 |access-date=7 May 2025}}</ref>
== 2022–2026 session deputies == {| class="wikitable sortable" ! colspan="2" |Name !Election Area !Political Affiliation !Sect |- |[[File:Elias Bou Saab MSC 2019 (cropped).jpg|frameless|142x142px]] |[[Elias Bou Saab]] |[[Matn District|Matn]] |{{Color box|#FFFFFF|||border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Independent]] |[[Greek Orthodox]] |- |[[File:Ibrahim Kanaan, MTV Lebanon - Feb 7, 2020.jpg|frameless|118x118px]] |[[Ibrahim Kanaan]] |[[Matn District|Matn]] |{{Color box|#FFFFFF|||border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Independent]] |[[Maronite]] |- |[[File:Alain Aoun 1.jpg|frameless|139x139px]] |[[Alain Aoun]] |[[Baabda District|Baabda]] |{{Color box|#FFFFFF|||border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Independent]] |[[Maronite]] |- |[[File:Simon abiramia.jpg|frameless|133x133px]] |[[Simon Abi Ramia]] |[[Mount Lebanon I|Jbeil]] |{{Color box|#FFFFFF|||border=silver}} [[Independent politician|Independent]] |[[Maronite]] |}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Lebanon-party-stub}} [[Category:Parliamentary blocs of Lebanon]]