Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri at the podium during the commemoration of the disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr in Beirut, Aug. 31, 2023. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Le Jour)
BEIRUT — As Lebanon nears one year without a president, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called Monday for an end to the election impasse "in September," and for "everyone, without exception" to take part in dialogue on the issue.
The country has been without a head of state since Michel Aoun's term ended on Oct. 31, 2022 with no successor in place. The vacancy has also impeded postings to other top government positions.
"In September, we should find a solution to this crisis. I believe it is everyone's responsibility to elect a President of the Republic in September," Berri said in an interview with the daily al-Joumhouriya published on Monday.
His comments came after he promised last Thursday to hold open election sessions in Parliament, provided they followed an extended seven-day dialogue that would bring together the heads of parliamentary blocs. This suggestion was lauded by Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), but criticized by the opposition.
In July, French special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian also urged dialogue as part of his country's initiative to break the presidential deadlock but faced criticism from some MPs.
"The most important thing in the call [for dialogue] is that everyone participates without exception," Berri said in Monday's interview. According to him, "there are two blocs within Parliament. One bloc wants dialogue and then the election of a president, the other wants the election of a president and then dialogue. Hence the call for a seven-day dialogue to satisfy both parties."
"If we agree on a single candidate, it will be very good for the country, otherwise we agree on two candidates, or more, and go straight to Parliament to elect a president," Berri added. "Whatever the outcome of this dialogue, whether it succeeds or fails, I will go to Parliament to hold successive sessions" until a president is elected.
"The essence of dialogue is to maintain the quorum. Calling for dialogue in good faith means that the quorum issue is settled," said Berri, without specifying whether he was referring to the quorum of two-thirds of parliamentarians or an absolute majority. Previous election sessions saw Hezbollah and Amal Movement MPs withdraw after the first round of voting, canceling quorum and halting a second round of votes.
"When we speak of successive electoral sessions until the election of a president, we mean sessions with a quorum, as mentioned in Article 49 of the constitution, and not sessions like the previous 12 which failed and during which the quorum was lost," he added.
Berri has considered each new voting session to be a new first round of voting, with 86 votes needed to elect a president. However, several legal experts claim that this is a violation of the constitution.