Berri won't call for election session as FPM, opposition claim presidential agreement
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri will not call for a "folkloric" session that might fail for the 12th time to elect a president.
In remarks published Tuesday in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Berri said that based on the current circumstances, it is not possible to call for a session "with no real competition".
He added that he hasn't been informed about a western deadline for the election of Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh.
Lebanon, in the throes of a crushing economic crisis, has been without a president for almost seven months, as Parliament failed 11 times to elect a successor for former president Michel Aoun.
Berri hasn't called for a session since January, claiming that the opposition has no serious competitor to Franjieh, the Shiite Duo's candidate.
The opposition, the Free Patriotic Movement, and some Change and independent MPs say they have agreed on a presidential candidate who could compete with Franjieh in a parliamentary voting session.
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/297918 |