Berri: Jurisdictions of President Untouched in 'Package Deal'

Speaker Nabih Berri defended the so-called “package deal” on the presidency, which was subject to criticism from Christian officials, and assured that it does not include any item specifying the jurisdictions of the president, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

“They say that the package deal is over, for me it still exists. Let them say what they want, it's their opinion not mine,” Berri's visitors quoted him as saying.

“I would like to ask, what is included in the package deal? It is known to all and it does not contain any item on the jurisdictions of the president,” he went on say.

Berri's “package deal” was criticized by several Christian figures including Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Free Patriotic Movement Minister Jebran Bassil and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea.

Berri had launched an initiative aimed at ending the presidential impasse. He called for shortening the term of parliament and that the elections be held based on the 1960 law should political forces fail to agree on a new electoral one.

He also called for staging the presidential elections after the parliamentary ones and forming a national unity government.

Rahi blasted the calls for “package deal” that precedes the election of a president, noting that any candidate who accepts it has no “dignity.”

In a show of support to Rahi's stances, Bassil and Geagea issued statement after separate meetings with Rahi on Tuesday rejecting the “package deal.”

On reports claiming that a president is likely to be elected soon, Berri said: “Some believe that a president will be elected in the next few days, but I don't see that coming.”

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

Hariri's move prompted Geagea to endorse the nomination of Aoun, his long-time Christian rival, after months of political rapprochement talks between their two parties.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.