Berri says 'still a chance' to elect president as LBP slips to 87,000

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri will try his best to break the presidential impasse.

Al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Tuesday, quoted the speaker as saying that there is still a chance to elect a president, but that a solution is only possible when all parties agree to cooperate in order to reach a consensus.

In eleven sessions, Lebanon's divided parliament failed to elect a new president, despite the damage the political deadlock is doing to efforts to bail out its bankrupt economy.

Last month, two Change lawmakers started a sit-in inside the country's parliamentary chamber, vowing to remain inside until fellow MPs elect a new president.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since Michel Aoun's mandate expired last year, with a caretaker cabinet overseeing the responsibilities of government amid a financial collapse that is stretching into its third year and this week saw the local currency reach a record low against the U.S. dollar.

The embattled local currency, which in three years has lost more than 95 percent of its value, dropped to a new low Tuesday against the U.S. dollar as it traded over 87,000 to the dollar, compared with 60,000 at the start of the month.