Bou Saab asks Berri to consider early parliamentary elections

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab on Friday warned that a presidential understanding would need “dialogue” and that “the country cannot withstand three more months” of vacuum.

“I urged Speaker Berri to begin considering early parliamentary elections should the current parliament fail to elect a president,” Bou Saab said after meeting Berri.

“Speaker Berri did not object to these remarks and said ‘let’s see what happens next time,’” Bou Saab added.

“What I learned from the parliament speaker is that dialogue is the best gateway, but if the parties do not want it, he is willing to call for a new presidential election session,” the Deputy Speaker said.

Bou Saab also noted that “it is clear that some parties who were backing a certain presidential candidate now want to go the center,” in an apparent reference to the Free Patriotic Movement, the Progressive Socialist Party and some independents.