The leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Joumblatt meets with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh, Beirut. (Credit: NNA/File)
BEIRUT — The leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Joumblatt met on Sunday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at Ain al-Tineh, Beirut, the state-run National News Agency reported. At the end of the meeting, Joumblatt answered reporters' questions and announced that he and Berri had agreed on not naming any presidential candidate of "challenge".
"The most important thing is that we get to the presidential deadline and study the names" of the candidates, Joumblatt said. "Our candidate is Michel Moawad, but we are several parties in the country. We can discuss other names," he added.
Responding to a question about the possibility that he would support the candidacy of Sleiman Frangieh, leader of the Marada Movement, Joumblatt stressed that there was an "agreement" with Berri not to have a "candidate of challenge."
He also described several parties' refusal of Berri's invitation to a dialogue on the presidential election as "a mistake."
Late last week, Berri said he would refrain from officially launching his invitation to a dialogue following the rejection of his initiative by the two main Christian parliamentary blocs, the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement.
For the first time in its history, Lebanon is faced with a double vacuum in its executive, as no successor to Michel Aoun, whose presidential term expired on Oct. 31, has been elected, and no new government has been formed since the resignation of the cabinet following parliamentary elections in May, meaning the current cabinet is acting in a caretaker capacity.
Parliament has convened four times since the beginning of the election period in late August to attempt to select a new president, but has so far has failed to do so due to the absence of consensus between political parties.
Parliament is scheduled meet on Thursday for a fifth attempt at choosing Aoun's successor.
PSP MPs have voted for Michel Moawad (Independent/Zgharta) while MPs from the Amal Movement, the party headed by Berri, have cast blank ballots.