Kataeb Urges Parliamentary 'State of Emergency' to Elect New President

The Kataeb Party on Monday called for declaring a “parliamentary state of emergency,” urging the legislature to hold successive rounds of voting to elect a new president before the May 25 deadline passes.

“In the last few days that separate us from the end of the constitutional timeframe to elect a new president of the republic, the Kataeb Party cannot but raise the voice to demand respect for the constitution,” said a statement issued after the weekly meeting of the party's politburo.

Kataeb warned that “history will not be merciful” towards anyone impeding the election of a new president.

It called for “declaring a parliamentary state of emergency and holding consecutive rounds of voting until a president is elected,” urging MPs to “attend electoral sessions, secure quorum and perform their constitutional duty responsibly.”

In an interview with the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel said he will only run for office if both political camps endorse him as a “consensual” candidate.

The first four rounds of the polls failed to bring a head of state to the country's top Christian post after most of the March 8 camp's MPs boycotted the elections.

The March 8 alliance's members have claimed that their boycott was the result of lack of agreement on a consensual candidate.

A fifth round of elections is scheduled to take place on Thursday. March 8 MPs have informed Speaker Nabih Berri that they would attend the session but it is not clear whether they would vote or not.

Separately, the Kataeb Party urged authorities to “deal firmly with the state of chaos in some regions,” strongly condemning “the attacks against residents in Bourj Hammoud.”

Tensions were high on Sunday in the aforementioned area in the wake of a major brawl between residents and Kurd and Syrian workers who reside there.

The party called for considering the incident “a serious alarm to the state on the need to control the state of chaos caused by the presence of foreigners.”

Kataeb also called for devising “an urgent plan to organize the presence of Syrian refugees” in Lebanon.

Y.R.

M.T.