LF says Berri's call for 'prior agreement' on president violates constitution

MP Sethrida Geagea of the Lebanese Forces bloc on Friday said that Speaker Nabih Berri is “insisting that he will not call for a presidential election session unless there is a prior agreement.”

“This stance in itself is a major constitutional violation, seeing as the constitution does not stipulate consensus but rather election,” Geagea said.

“This is a new chapter of the attempt by a group of Lebanese to impose their will on others, once through force and another through abusing authority,” the MP added.

Accordingly, Geagea called on Berri to “immediately call for an open-ended session with successive rounds as per the constitution, in order to elect a president for the country, because there is no solution of the vacuum crisis other than this solution.”

“As for betting on the despair of the sovereign camp or the Lebanese so that they bow once again and submit to the will of this (other) camp, this will never happen no matter how much their obstruction of the presidential vote protracts,” Geagea added.

Berri called Thursday on political blocs to engage in dialogue in September to elect a president, a vacancy that has been unfilled for 10 months.

Crisis-hit Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun's term ended in October last year, with neither of the two main blocs -- the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its opponents -- having the majority required to elect one.

"I call on the leaders and representatives of the parliamentary blocs to take part in a dialogue in parliament in September, for a period not exceeding seven days, following which open sessions would be held... to achieve the election of a president," Berri said.

The speaker, whose Amal Movement is closely aligned with Hezbollah, said he was making the appeal "before it is too late."

Berri has so far refused requests from members of the anti-Hezbollah camp to hold open sessions until a president is elected.

The blocs opposed to Hezbollah and its allies have refused to take part in talks to agree on a head of state before proceeding with a vote, preferring to rely on the democratic process.