Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri will convene Parliament on September 25 to elect a new president for Lebanon, according to MP Ali Bazzi, a member of the pro- Syrian Amal movement, an ally of Hezbollah. Bazzi, who made the announcement on Sunday during a rally in south Lebanon to commemorate the 12th anniversary of al-Mansouri massacre in Tyre, stressed that no political stability or decisions can be reached in Lebanon without the "essential role Â… of the resistance," a reference to Hezbollah.Bazzi said the legislative will convene to elect a new head of state to replace President Emile Lahoud without the presence of the "unconstitutional" government, adding that only MP-ministers will be allowed to attend the September session. "No way will Speaker Berri allow it (government) to be represented in parliament," he said.
Bazzi, who is also an official in the Amal movement which is headed by Berri, criticized some leaders in the March 14 coalition "for not possessing the intention nor the will nor a national plan to work together in order to salvage the country from its current political crisis."
He assured that the political stalemate that has gripped Lebanon since the resignation of six pro-Syrian cabinet ministers in November was not over the international tribunal, but over Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government "which has lost its legitimacy."
Lahoud's term, which was extended for three years in a Syrian-inspired controversial constitutional amendment in September 2004, expires in November 2007. The presidential election and the creation of the U.N.-backed international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 murder of former Premier Rafik Hariri are at the heart of Lebanon's domestic disputes.
Geagea says: “ Why wait for 6 more months?”
Lebanese forces chief Dr. Samir Geagea ridiculed the announcement as too little too late, and said why should we wait for 6 more months to elect a new president, the time to do it is now. Dr. Geagea also questioned the motive of Berri when he said that the president will not be from march 8 alliance nor March 14 alliance . Geagea said the opposition acts as “what is theirs is theirs alone and what is ours is to be shared with them”. Geagea said if this is the case we will also want to elect a new speaker ( to replace Berri) that is neither from March 14 alliance nor from march 8th alliance .