Speaker Nabih Berri has lamented that no solution was looming on the horizon for the presidential crisis but said he gave the MPs of his bloc the freedom to chose the candidate they wanted.
“The presidential elections have been frozen,” Berri, whose remarks were published in newspapers on Monday, told his visitors.
But the speaker said that an initiative launched by al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri to bring Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh as president was “still alive because its sponsors are holding onto it.”
Asked what his stance would be if Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea announced his backing for the candidacy of Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun, Berri said: “In this case, both Aoun and MP Suleiman Franjieh should head to the parliamentary session.”
“The person who gets the majority of votes would win,” he added.
There have been reports that the LF has officially backed Aoun.
The speaker also discussed with his visitors about the all-party talks and the meeting between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal officials that are scheduled to be held separately on Monday.
He said the national dialogue's discussions will focus on ways to activate the work of the government.
“I will seek to resolve the reservations expressed by some parties on the cabinet session that is scheduled to be held on Thursday,” said Berri.
On the Hizbullah-Mustaqbal dialogue, the speaker told his visitors that the perseverance to hold the talks is a major “achievement amid the tough local and regional conditions surrounding us.”
Tension between the two sides has been high following Saudi Arabia's execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
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