MP Nicolas Fattoush has submitted a proposal on a two-year extension of parliament's mandate without coordinating with any side, the caretaker minister said Sunday, a day before an expected deal on running in the elections under the 1960 law.

“I made my proposal without coordinating with any party,” Fattoush told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) without confirming a report in An Nahar daily if his proposal was aimed at making a two-year extension.

President Michel Suleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri are likely to disagree on the extension of the current parliament's term given the political parties' failure to reach an agreement over a new electoral law, reported al-Akhbar newspaper Saturday.

Suleiman's circles said that the president reportedly opposes extending the term for more than four months.

President Michel Suleiman warned on Friday of extending the tenure of the parliament, calling on MPs to exert efforts to reach consensus over a new electoral law.

“Stepping over the people's will to select their representatives, which was stated in the law and based on democracy” is a red line, Suleiman told his visitors.

President Michel Suleiman is leaning towards advocating the formation of a 24-member government that distributes portfolios equally between the March 8, March 14, and centrist camps, reported the daily An Nahar on Friday.

His visitors quoted him as saying that he will endorse any cabinet line-up that enjoys the support of the majority of lawmakers.

Consultations over a new electoral law have reached a deadlock after as foes began discussing the possibility of extending the mandate of the current parliament to by at least eight months, local newspapers reported on Friday.

Informed sources told An Nahar newspapers that the March 8 and 14 alliances kicked off discussions over the extension of the parliament's tenure on Thursday away from media spotlight.

Italian Defense Minister Mario Mauro lauded on Thursday the role played by President Michel Suleiman to distance Lebanon from the region's crises.

A statement issued by the presidency said Mauro, who visited Suleiman at Baabda palace, praised Suleiman for abiding by the Baabda Declaration, a document adopted by rival Lebanese leaders last year pledging to stick to the dissociation policy.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed that he is considering his options if the parliament adopted the so-called Orthodox Gathering electoral draft-law, reiterating that he will not attend Wednesday's assembly session.

“I began consulting several law and constitution experts to study my options if it was adopted based on my commitment to the constitution and my jurisdictions,” Miqati said in comments published in As Safir newspaper on Wednesday.

Special Assistant to U.S. President Barack Obama and White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa, and Gulf Region Philip Gordon expressed on Tuesday the United States’ grave concern about the situation in Syria and condemned continued shelling of Lebanese territory from Syria.

He also condemned Hizbullah’s involvement in Syria, fighting on behalf of the regime Syrian President Bashar Assad, “which risks drawing Lebanon into the conflict and is counter to the Lebanese government’s policies.”

Independent March 14 lawmakers renewed on Tuesday their rejection of the Orthodox Gathering parliamentary electoral draft law, saying that it “represents a threat to Lebanon and all of its sects.”

MP Butros Harb said after a meeting for the MPs: “Speaker Nabih Berri should have placed more than one electoral law on parliament's agenda on Wednesday.”

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Tuesday that he belongs to the centrists bloc more than President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat.

“If centrism applies to anyone then it's me... Ever since I presumed the tasks of the speaker, I tried to communicate with all parties and I have always sought to mend ties to achieve consensus,” Berri said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.