Berri: Divisions among Alliances a Madhouse

Speaker Nabih Berri stated on Thursday that a solution to the controversial file of the presidency is no longer in the hands of the Lebanese and that a Saudi-Iranian dialogue could be the secret “potion” for this hurdle.

“The antidote to elect a president of the republic is no longer a Lebanese decision. It seems that the only chance we have now lies in a Saudi-Iranian dialogue. It apparently seems to be the only potion,” Berri told al-Akhbar daily in an interview.

“We have long awaited for a Lebanese agreement in order to keep this entitlement within this range, but it pitifully failed,” added the Speaker.

The 35th session to elect a president to fill the 20-month vacuum at the top state post was postponed on Monday following a lack of quorum at parliament.

The seat has been vacant since the term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014.

Conflicts among the rival March 8 and March 14 alliances have thwarted all attempts aiming at electing a successor.

Berri noted: “The contradictory positions and divisions among political factions is madness and schizophrenia. It's a madhouse.”

“The March 14 alliance are not the same, nor is the March 8 camp. They are divided, or almost divided over the candidates for the presidential race which did not lead to positive outcomes or a solution for the presidential crisis,” he concluded.

Some observers were optimistic that a head of state would have been elected during Monday's session following Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea's endorsement of his longtime rival Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun as president.

Over the weekend however, Hizbullah, Aoun's main ally, announced that its lawmakers will not attend the electoral session unless an agreement is reached to elect the MP.

Marada movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh is also a candidate after his unofficial nomination by al-Mustaqbal movement chief Saad Hariri.

D.A.

G.K.