BEIRUT – The Amal Movement's Development and Liberation parliamentary group, in its Friday meeting headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, questioned the opposition's portrayal of dialogue that would pave the way to a new president in Lebanon, as a "violation," before the opposition responded saying that forcing a dialogue headed by Berri "confirms that its proponents want to amend the constitution."

These comments come following the opposition's comments on Wednesday when the head of the Lebanese Forces (LF), Samir Geagea, criticized the Amal Movement and Hezbollah for "rejecting" their proposed "serious dialogue" that would pave the way to a new president in Lebanon when both groups claim they advocate for one.

The Development and Liberation bloc also condemned "any abuse or disdain for presidential positions, powers, and roles," saying "it will not pay any attention to the campaigns of abuse and slander that target the Parliament Speaker, his role, and his powers, and these campaigns are inevitably false."

“Why portray dialogue or consultation as a scarecrow and a violation of the system and the constitution?” the bloc added, noting that it "welcomes any Arab or international endeavor or effort aimed at helping Lebanon elect a president."

In a statement, Berri noted that "the Qataris have ideas," but "not a broad initiative, regarding the presidency, denying that they proposed amendments to the Lebanese system."

Criticizing the LF, Berri said that Geagea is "ungrateful."

"He did not appreciate my rejection of the offer of the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Minister Gebran Bassil, which aimed for dialogue and elections with a secure quorum and with whomever of the blocs attended, and I rejected that without any effort of thought. Because it is not possible to accept the isolation of any Lebanese component, especially the Lebanese Forces, which constitute the largest Christian parliamentary bloc," Berri added.

Following its Friday meeting,  the Amal Movement's Development and Liberation bloc added that the "effort" to elect a president "should be met by the parliamentary blocs and political forces with a comprehensive national effort ... and with the conviction ... that the current impasse dictates that there should be serious consultation and dialogue, in an open atmosphere under the dome of parliament, under the umbrella of the constitution, for a few days leading to agreement on one, two, or three candidates."

The Lebanese Forces responded in a statement on Friday that "those who claim that the path to the presidency passes through Ain al-Tineh are bypassing the constitution and delving into the vacancy."

"Has adherence to electing a president by calling for an open session in successive sessions become the basis for deviation while disrupting the presidential elections and setting unconstitutional conditions is the right thing? Absolutely not," the statement added.

"As for talking about binding conditions that precede the presidential elections, which are basically not present in any constitutional text, such as that the dialogue headed by President Nabih Berri is the obligatory path to the election, or that Ain al-Tineh is the crossing point for electing the president, this talk confirms that its proponents want to amend the constitution and establish customs," LF's statement also said.

At a time when the head of the legislature is accusing the opposition of blocking any solution – by rejecting the expanded dialogue he is proposing – the anti-Hezbollah camp officially declared itself in favor of 48-hour "consultations" with a view to holding the ballot, within the framework of an open session of the Parliament. This would allow the election of a president after informal consultations.