Bou Saab says early elections his idea, not Berri or Hezbollah's

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab, who had suggested early parliamentary elections to solve the presidential crisis, said that the idea was his.

"No one has encouraged me to propose early elections," Bou Saab told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Tuesday, denying that Speaker Nabih Berri or Hezbollah had instructed him to do it, "as some people have imagined."

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil had criticized the idea Monday evening, in a televised interview, suggesting that the proposition might be a message from Speaker Berri.

Bou Saab proposed early elections after lawmakers failed last week for a 12th time to elect a new president amid bitter divisions in parliament that could mire the country in a protracted power vacuum. He said many countries resort to early elections in a similar scenario.

"Electing a president is not possible due to negative balance in parliament," Bou Saab said, adding that dialogue is not possible either, as some parties have refused it.

Crisis-hit Lebanon has already been without a head of state for more than seven months, and the previous attempt to elect a president was held on January 19.

Berri, Hezbollah MPs, and their candidate Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh have called for dialogue to break the impasse.

"Some are saying that this parliament will not succeed in electing a president before the end of its term," Bou Saab said. "Are we supposed to stand idly by in the face of the protracted vacuum," he asked.