Raad: Dialogue is a norm and a norm is stronger than the constitution

Speaker Nabih Berri has been calling for dialogue over the presidential vote “as has been the norm,” and a norm in Lebanon is “stronger the constitution,” Hezbollah’s top MP Mohammad Raad has said.

“Michel Suleiman was elected after a dialogue session and Michel Aoun was elected after a dialogue session,” Raad added.

“The dialogue session on which we are insisting along with Speaker Nabih Berri is aimed at gathering the voters from the various blocs to the discuss the Lebanese affairs and the importance of electing a president as well as the president’s characteristics and the risks that they should confront,” the lawmaker said.

“They might not agree on the president’s name, but their presence would melt some of the ice that is hindering their communication. How can they secure a quorum of 86 MPs in the presidential election session if they don’t talk to each other?” Raad added.

“We want a president for all the Lebanese under the ceiling of national consensus and they want a president for them under the slogan of a winner and a loser … Their rejection of dialogue is what’s blocking a consensual quorum for the election to take place,” the legislator charged.