National Moderation MPs surrounding Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Ain al-Tineh, Mar. 9, 2024. (Credit: Lebanese Parliament)
MPs from the National Moderation bloc held talks on Saturday with House Speaker Nabih Berri, who had earlier in the week described their proposal as "bizarre." The MPs are spearheading an initiative to end the 16-month presidential vacancy.
The deputies will continue their contacts with the various political formations on Tuesday, a source within the bloc told L'Orient-Le Jour. Parliamentarian Walid Baarini, from Ain al-Tineh, expressed his optimism about the outcome of this project.
Over the past few days, the National Moderation bloc — made up of mostly Sunni ex-Hariri deputies — has been touring all the MPs to promote their proposal to hold consultations in Parliament. The consultations are to be followed by open electoral sessions until the election of a new head of state.
The Baabda Palace has been without a tenant since Michel Aoun stepped down in October 2022, at the end of his term of office.
Berri told al-Joumhouriya newspaper on Tuesday that he was "astonished" by "the idea put forward by some and centered on [informal] meetings in the Chamber," in an implicit criticism of the National Moderation initiative.
"This bizarre proposal reflects a certain form of political levity at a time when Lebanon is going through one of the most delicate phases in its history," he said. "We have the impression that these deputies [who will take part in the consultations] will be brought together in the hemicycle by pure coincidence and will talk about the presidential elections at the end of this meeting willed by fate," added Berri.
Hezbollah refrained from immediately following up on the group's proposal after a meeting with the National Moderation earlier in the week and displayed its constant support for the candidacy of Marada leader Sleiman Frangieh.
Written proposal
Nevertheless, a source within the National Moderation told L'Orient-Le Jour that Saturday's meeting with Nabih Berri was "positive" and that the parliamentary group was preparing a written version of its proposal, at Berri's request, concerning the next phase of contacts with the groups. This phase should begin on Tuesday, according to the source.
"To those who claimed that the initiative was torpedoed, we have good news: On the contrary, it received a great boost," said the Baarini MP for Ain al-Tineh, in remarks reported by the official National News Agency (NNA).
According to him, "the second tour" of political organizations may not be "publicized ... but we will prove to public opinion, at home and abroad, that the initiative will succeed."
Baarini added that the "mechanism" of the initiative was established in a "very positive" manner with Berri, and that his bloc "awaits Hezbollah's response" to it, given that its opinion is "essential." He said that Berri was "optimistic" about the initiative.
Berri and outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati also discussed the political situation in Lebanon in a meeting, according to NNA.
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour.