Berri Tells Simple Majority Advocates 'Don't Mess with Me,' Says 'Fruit is Ripe'

Speaker Nabih Berri has vowed not to violate Lebanon's Constitution by allowing only the parliament's simple majority to elect a new president.

“Don't try me and don't mess with me,” Berri told the officials who are calling for the election of a head of state by simple majority.

“Don't mess with quorum. If you continue to do so, you would not be successful,” the speaker warned.

Among the advocates of such a demand is al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc chief MP Fouad Saniora, who has said that there is no need for the presence of two-thirds of parliament's 128 members to choose the country's next president.

Berri vowed in remarks to As Safir daily published on Tuesday not to hit the gavel unless 86 MPs are present at the electoral session.

“I will not violate the Constitution,” he said.

Baabda Palace has been vacant since the term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014. But parliament has failed to meet over lack of quorum caused by the boycott of some parliamentary blocs.

Berri stressed that it was important to swiftly elect a head of state. But this should not entail “the destruction of (Lebanon's) Constitutional foundation.”

He reiterated that it was “time to pick the presidential fruit after it has ripened.”

He warned that “the fruit would fall and the country would collapse with it if it was not picked at the right time.”

Berri also said that the state is halfway into reaching the edge of the abyss.

The failure to elect a president has paralyzed the parliament and limited the functions of the government.

He expressed the same stance during a speech at a ceremony held on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Lebanese Tobacco and Tunbac Monopoly Department (Regie).

Berri said in his speech that Lebanon is doing much better security wise than the rest of the Middle Eastern countries and the world “due to our dialogue, unity, the army and security forces.”

He called Lebanon a “miracle,” saying only the Lebanese don't know its value. "Arabs and Europeans love it more than us. Even God loves it more than us," he said.

“Lebanon is an experiment for coexistence of religions and civilizations,” he said.

“Lebanon, which defeated the Israeli enemy in 2006, cannot give up its resistance as long as Israel continues to occupy our land,” the speaker added.

Berri reiterated the need to demarcate Lebanon's maritime border with Israel so that the country can exploit its natural resources.

G.K.

D.A.