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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Is Berri Threatening to Drop Suleiman's Nomination? |
| 2007-12-23 |
| Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has made what appears to be a veiled threat to drop Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman's nomination for president. Berri said if a new president was not elected by next Saturday he would call for weekly parliamentary sessions throughout January to elect a head of state during a legislative recess by the house, which does not permit a constitutional amendment allowing Suleiman's election. Berri, talking to the daily As Safir, said "I hope we will be able to accomplish the presidential election (by next Saturday) Â… In any case, and if we did not strike luck, God forbid, parliament would be in constant and extraordinary (open) session and I would call for consecutive sessions, and maybe weekly sessions during January, until we manage to elect a president." He stressed that due to the ongoing void in the presidential office, Parliament is bound by article 74 of the constitution, which states that the house should "convene immediately in line with the law to elect a successor. Therefore, in light of the persisting void, it is the speaker's right to call the house to convene to elect a president at any time chosen by him." Berri's statement fueled speculation that he is launching a veiled threat on behalf of the Hizbullah-led opposition to drop Suleiman's nomination for president after Dec. 31 when Parliament enters a legislative recess for nearly three months, which strips the house of its right to amend the constitution, a move needed to allow the election of a public employee to the nation's top post. Berri's vague stand followed remarks by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun that a French initiative to facilitate Lebanon's presidential election has "finished and they are looking for other solutions." Aoun also made a rather vague remark regarding his support for Suleiman's nomination, which also fuels speculation that the opposition is considering withdrawing its support for the army commander as a sole consensus presidential candidate. "I stepped aside in favor of Gen. Suleiman. I regain my freedom whenever he is no more a candidate," Aoun said in answering a question after a meeting by members of his Change and Reform Parliamentary bloc on Friday. |
| Posted by:Fred |