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Knobby: I will show up at poll and want all MPS to attend
Lebanon's parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said in remarks quoted on Saturday that next week's controversial presidential election would be postponed if MPs did not turn up in sufficient numbers. Berri, a member of the pro-Syrian opposition, told the most senior MP, Ghassan Tueni, that he personally would attend Tuesday's session in parliament, but added:
Berri, who was quoted in An-Nahar newspaper, has been pushing for the two sides to find a consensus candidate to replace the outgoing, pro-Syrian, President Emile Lahoud whose term expires on November 24. Both domestically and internationally, supporters of the anti-Syrian majority have demanded that MPs proceed to elect a new president, with pressure to do so boosted following the latest killing of an MP opposed to Damascus. Under the constitution, MPs elect the president -- traditionally a Maronite Christian -- by a majority of two-thirds of parliament's 128 seats in a first round or a simple majority afterwards if a second round is required. The pro-Syrian opposition, backed by Damascus and Tehran, and spearheaded by Hezbollah, interprets the rule as saying a quorum of two-thirds of MPs is needed, enabling it to prevent the election of a candidate it rejects, as the anti-Syrian camp has only a simple majority. Hezbollah has several times threatened to torpedo a quorum, pulling out MPs in its camp from the vote. Posted by: Fred 2007-09-23 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=199886 |