Berri to Call for Inter-Muslim Dialogue after Resolving Elections Dispute

Speaker Nabih Berri revealed on Monday that he would call for an inter-Islamic dialogue after he hopefully resolves the disagreements on the June parliamentary elections during a session end of the week.

Berri told local dailies that he would contact the Hizbullah leadership and al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri to set the ground for the dialogue “which has become necessary and urgent at this dangerous stage.”

The talks between his Amal movement, Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal would be aimed at “confronting plots of strife and its dangerous repercussions,” he said.

About the differences between rival parties on the electoral law and the extension of the legislature's mandate, Berri confirmed that he would call for a parliamentary session before Friday May 31 to agree on the extension of the legislature's term.

Parliament convenes twice a year in two ordinary sessions -- the first starts mid-march until the end of May and the second from the middle of October through the end of December.

The speaker proposed a maximum two-year extension over the failure of the rival parties to agree on a new electoral law, saying the current security situation does not encourage holding the polls in six months.

Deadly clashes have gripped the northern city of Tripoli and rockets landed on Beirut's southern suburbs as Syria's civil war has spilled over into Lebanon.

Lebanese villages and towns bordering Syria have come under rocket fire due to the fighting between regime troops and rebels and the southern city of Sidon has also witnessed skirmishes.

“How could the conditions for holding safe elections be guaranteed amid tension in Sidon, Tripoli, Dahieh (Beirut's southern suburbs) and Akkar?” Berri asked.

“A six-month extension would mean that heated political tension would remain, in addition to violent rhetoric and street clashes,” he said.

Parliament's four-year mandate expires on June 20.