President Michel Aoun met on Saturday with Jerome Chartier, the special adviser of French candidate Francois Fillon, at Baabda Palace, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.

Jerome conveyed Fillon's greetings and apologies for not being able to visit Lebanon as it was planned earlier, NNA said.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged the political authority in Lebanon to stop obstructing the political process in the country for their own personal gains, as he assured that the Christian community does not stand in a weak position.

The Progressive Socialist Party renewed rejection of the so-called qualification electoral system saying it harms coexistence between different sects in the Mountains region, the pan Arab al-Hayat daily reported on Saturday.

PSP sources said a sectarian qualification voting system “blasts everything achieved in the Mountain's diversity between various sects. It harms reconciliation, consolidation, coexistence and partnership between different families. This is more important to us than having more or less seats at the parliament.”

High security measures were taken in various Lebanese regions, especially around churches, on the occasion of Good Friday and Easter, the pan Arab al-Anbaa daily reported on Saturday.

Army units in civilian clothes have deployed among the people and walked with crowds and spread inside the churches like other faithfuls, while other unit forces deployed at specific distances to monitor the movements around the assembly areas, added the daily.

Serious efforts will be exerted in a month time period to form a new law, but chances of a failure still linger in light of some positions rejecting or expressing reservation about the proposed so-called 'qualification format', al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

“Serious work will be taken within a month to agree on a new law. Although agreeing on one is possible, but the probability of a failure still lingers,” Parliamentary sources following up on the elections file told the daily on condition of anonymity.

After President Michel Aoun suspended the parliament for a period of one month paving way for political parties to agree on a new electoral law, Speaker Nabih Berri said Friday the next parliament session on May 15 must reap the “fruits” of the agreement.

“What has happened must place everyone in front of their responsibilities as for agreeing on a new law as soon as possible. The month time period must be a month of decisiveness as for agreeing on a new voting system,” said Berri to his visitors on Thursday.

MP Alain Aoun said on Friday that efforts of political parties will succeed at finding a new electoral law for the upcoming parliamentary polls, as he assured that fears of another term extension must be dropped.

“We are going to devise a new electoral law. Everyone knows there won't be a new extension crisis,” said Aoun in an interview to VDL (100.5).

Army Commander General Joseph Aoun stressed on Thursday that the army will respond firmly to any attempt to move the armed clashes out of the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh, the National News Agency reported.

“The army will firmly respond to any bid aiming to target military positions or residential areas around the camp, or attempts to move the clashes outside,” said Aoun while touring the army's units deployed in the southern city of Sidon and in the vicinity of Ain el-Hilweh.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri marked the 42nd anniversary of Lebanon's civil war and said that everyone in the country must help in preventing anything that leads to another state of war.

“When the civil war broke out in Lebanon no body knew it would last for 15 years, killing tens of thousands, wounding many and displacing the Lebanese people and destroying the economy,” said Hariri in a video released on his Twitter and Facebook pages.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri received Wednesday evening at the Grand Serail, a delegation from the US congress where talks focused on several issues including US aid to the Lebanese security apparatuses.

US congressman Harold Rogers was heading the delegation that arrived in Lebanon for a visit on April 12 and was comprised of six congressmen.