Int'l 'Presidency Efforts' Resume as Parties Say Berri's Taef Remarks Aim to Promote 'Package Deal'
Regional and international consultations have resumed regarding Lebanon's stalled presidential vote, while some domestic parties have described Speaker Nabih Berri's latest remarks about adherence to the Taef Accord as an attempt to promote his proposed “package deal,” a media report said on Sunday.
“Saudi, Iranian and U.S. efforts regarding the presidency have emerged in recent days amid domestic preparations for the consecutive dialogue sessions that will be held on August 2, 3 and 4,” the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper reported.
Noting that Berri was keen to announce his commitment to the Taef Accord and rejection of a so-called constituent assembly prior to the talks, al-Anbaa quoted sources suspicious of the proposed package deal as saying that “Berri's remarks about the Taef Accord and the constituent assembly are aimed at promoting this package deal.”
“It is required to reassure all Lebanese, not only Christians, regarding the presence of the State,” the sources added.
Al-Mustaqbal Movement sources meanwhile voiced acceptance of Berri's reassuring statement and noted that the movement will await the outcome of the August dialogue sessions.
“Saudi Ambassador Ali Awadh Asiri has reiterated to Speaker Berri Saudi Arabia's support for dialogue and understanding among the Lebanese,” the source said.
Mustaqbal bloc MP Ammar Houry meanwhile described Berri's stance as “positive.”
But his bloc colleague MP Nabil de Freij charged that “the proposed package deal is aimed at blocking the presidential vote.”
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, the Free Patriotic Movement and some of their allies have been boycotting the electoral sessions at parliament, stripping them of the needed quorum.
Mustaqbal leader ex-PM Saad 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.
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.
Berri's proposed package deal involves holding parliamentary elections under a new electoral law before electing a new president and forming a new government. Should the parties fail to agree on a new law, the parliament's current extended term would be curtailed and the elections would be held under the 1960 law which is currently in effect, Berri says.
Berri has several times repeated his rejection of the 1960 law, urging an electoral system based on proportional representation.
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