Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri during a parliamentary session dedicated to the election of a president of Lebanon in June 2023. (Credit: Lebanese Parliament)
BEIRUT — For Lebanon to elect a president, a "comprehensive dialogue should take place amidst Lebanon's exceptional circumstances, intending not to divide or isolate any group," Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper Monday.
He noted that "he rejects inviting MPs to dialogue or consultation with those who attend, aiming to break the deadlock surrounding the presidential elections" because that would isolate other groups who do not attend the meeting, insisting that all groups should be present.
This statement comes as the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, said last week he was in favor of a dialogue on the presidential election, even if it had to be held without its opposing party, the Lebanese Forces (LF).
The Lebanese Forces (LF) said in a statement that Berri's remarks "included several falsehoods." The LF questioned, "What prevented Berri from calling for presidential election sessions at regular intervals until a president was elected per the Constitution?"
The LF asserted, "The solution to this issue lies in strict adherence to the Constitution by calling for continuous sessions, rather than distorting reality through supposed dialogues aimed at covering up obstruction and circumventing the Constitution."
The LF also pointed out that "in reality, everyone is constantly consulting, but these consultations have not succeeded due to the withdrawal of the Moumanaa blocs from the first session." During the twelve parliamentary electoral sessions held between September 2022 and June 2023, no candidate, official or otherwise, obtained the required majority. After the first round of voting, the majority of Hezbollah-Amal bloc deputies withdrew from the chamber, causing a loss of quorum. Berri believes that each new parliamentary session constitutes a new first round of voting, where a two-thirds majority (86 votes) is required to elect a president. In the second round, a simple majority (65 votes) is needed.
In response to Berri's question, "Who said that consultation constitutes a violation of the Constitution?" the LF retorted, "The Constitution says so clearly."
To date, Parliament has made 12 unsuccessful attempts to elect a new president – the most recent of them almost a year ago.
Berri clarified that consultation should have "no preconditions and proposed an alternative process if consensus on a presidential candidate is not reached."
In case such a dialogue happens, a president could be elected "within ten days," according to the head of the Parliament.
Berri stressed the urgent need to elect a president to "restore constitutional institutions and prepare Lebanon to face regional political arrangements," as negotiations are underway to solve, notably, the conflict in the south of the country between Hezbollah and the Israeli army.
Regarding this conflict, in which his party, the Amal Movement, is involved and lost more than a dozen fighters, Berri indicated it remains "controlled within the rules of engagement."
He anticipated U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein's involvement once a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza is achieved, expecting negotiations to resume concerning southern Lebanon under UN Resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 to end the July war, back then, between Hezbollah and Israel.
Since Oct.8 Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in daily cross-border fire. Hezbollah states that its actions are in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas and that a cease-fire in Lebanon is contingent on a cease-fire in Gaza.