LF MP says Berri 'schizophrenic' as Amal, Hezbollah cancel meeting with opposition

Opposition lawmakers were supposed to meet on Friday and Monday with Amal and Hezbollah MPs, as they resume an initiative they had started last week, aiming to facilitate the election of a president, but the meeting was cancelled.

Opposition sources and Lebanese Forces MP Georges Okais confirmed that Amal and Hezbollah cancelled the meeting.

"The one who has called for dialogue refuses a ten-minute-long meeting with the opposition," Okais said, referring to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri who is calling for 10 days of dialogue which would pave the way for the election of a president in parliament. Okais accused Berri of being contradictory to the point of "schizophrenia".

In a bid to break the impasse, opposition lawmakers had started their initiative earlier this month, announcing two suggestions to facilitate the election of a president. They met with lawmakers from the Democratic Gathering bloc, the National Moderation bloc, the Free Patriotic Movement's Strong Lebanon bloc and other change and independent MPs.

The meeting was not rescheduled, opposition sources told local newspaper al-Joumhouria.

Crisis-hit Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022.

Both parties -- Amal-Hezbollah and the opposition -- accuse each other of refusing dialogue and of obstructing the presidential election.

The Lebanese Forces refuse a dialogue chaired by Berri. Their initiative suggested consultations in parliament that would not be chaired by Berri. They also proposed another suggestion: an open presidential election session chaired by Berri, during which MPs and blocs would hold consultations outside parliament’s hall after the first round of voting and then return to vote in successive rounds.

LF leader Samir Geagea says Berri's duty is to call for an election session and not to chair any dialogue that precedes it.