Report: Berri to Call for Second Round of Presidential Election in May
Speaker Nabih Berri is expected to call for a second parliamentary session set to elect a new president in May as observers are decisive that the first round on Wednesday will not lead to the election of a new head of state.
According to al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Wednesday, the speaker will call for another round unless consensus among parliamentary blocs was reached over the name of the new president.
Lawmakers told the newspaper that Berri's call on the head of diplomatic missions in Lebanon and former Presidents to attend a legislative session then it would be an indication that consensus has been reached.
MPs said that the speaker informed all parliamentary blocs that he is ready to call for a parliamentary session on Friday afternoon and during the weekend if he sensed that there is possibility for agreement.
Wednesday's first round of parliamentary deliberations to vote for a new president is expected to fail to elect a new president amid disputes over the name of the new head of state, which threatens a vacuum at the helm of the country's most important Christian post.
Parliamentary blocs will vote for two candidates on Wednesday – a March 14 official, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and the Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc member, MP Henri Helou.
- H. K.
- G. K.
almost 10 years
Much respect to the people who still have a drop of dignity left in them to cast blanks. The Lebanese people commend you.
almost 10 years
Condensed: A Parliament with an expired mandate,unwilling to elect a president whose constitutional powers are limited and has no grassroots support among the majority population. The Maronite role in Lebanon has been steadily eroding, under the prescription of regional caretakers KSA and Iran to Islamize the ME, as agreed upon in Taef and supported then by a previous parliament whose mandate had also expired.
In a larger sense, the Maronites are nearing an undignified end, caused by their sectarian representatives who refuse to yield for a new generation of free-thinking politicians.
Same story by the same people with the same logic: We have arms and we can do what we want and we will choose the president for you. To sugar quote it we will let you think it is consensual. As far as democracy is concerned, we speak about it to appear civilized but in reality the terror party's dictionary does not have the word democracy in its iranpedia.