Berri Stays Mum on Rahi's Criticism, Hints Positive Signs in Baabda Deadlock
Speaker Nabih Berri is seeking to avoid a crisis with Bkirki over Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's recent criticism of MPs for the extension of their term until June 2017.
Berri is expressing “understanding” at the anger expressed by al-Rahi over the failure to elect a new president and the extension of the legislature's mandate for two years and seven months, according to local dailies published on Wednesday.
The vote last week gave the 128-member parliament eight full years in power— double its allowed mandate.
But the newspapers quoted the speaker as telling his visitors on Tuesday that he preferred not to snap back at the patriarch to avoid a crisis with Bkirki.
Al-Rahi has been severely criticizing the lawmakers, calling them “traitors” who have violated the constitution in “cold blood” for extending their term and for causing a vacuum at Baabda Palace by failing to elect a president since the expiry of Michel Suleiman's term in May.
Berri defended the extension of parliament's mandate and the skipping of scheduled polls for the second consecutive time, saying it “had its justifications.”
“I wouldn't have backed it, had I not been aware of the dangers of vacuum and the impossibility of holding the elections,” he said.
Berri was asked by his visitors about the positive signs on the election of a new president. But the speaker preferred not to give further details on the issue, saying: “If I divulge more information, they (the signs) wouldn't be positive anymore.”
“There are consultations and moves to elect a head of state,” he added.
About a scheduled meeting next week on the electoral law, Berri reiterated that he would call on the committee tasked with studying the draft-law to limit its discussions on a hybrid system.
The speaker has stressed that the law would stipulate that half of the 128-member parliament would be elected under a winner-takes-all system, while the other half would be chosen using proportional representation.
The committee should accomplish its mission within a month, Berri said.
“If agreement was reached on the law, then we will take it to parliament for discussion and approval,” he told his visitors.
But if committee members failed to clinch a deal, then Berri said he would call for a legislative session to discuss all proposed electoral draft-laws.
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