Berri: No candidate will get 65 votes in first round
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has stressed that the June 14 presidential election session will be held and that all scenarios will be possible during it, in remarks to his visitors published Friday in al-Akhbar newspaper.
Asked about the Democratic Gathering’s announcement that it would vote for Jihad Azour, Berri said that he was told Monday that the Gathering would cast blank votes, voicing surprise over the new stance.
Moreover, Berri said that he does not believe any of the two candidates would receive two thirds of the votes or 65 votes in the session’s first round.
“The first round’s calculations will be different than those of the second,” he added.
Noting that “many MPs will cast blank votes to conceal their true stance,” Berri pointed out that “the session will unveil a part of the electoral game and the parties’ stances, but everyone knows that the settlement is not ripe yet.”
As for Riyadh’s stance, Berri said that he has not been informed of any new Saudi stance and that the French stance is still unchanged as to “supporting the settlement that would carry Suleiman Franjieh to the Baabda Palace.”
“The changes that happened in France are administrative and unrelated to the stance on the Lebanese juncture,” Berri added, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron’s appointment of ex-FM Jean-Yves Le Drian as his special envoy for Lebanon.
Source: Naharnet
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