Beirut - Lawmakers from the ruling anti-Syrian majority
failed at the Lebanese parliament Tuesday to elect a president for
for the 18th time, owing to persistent differences among the rival
leaders.
'I will not set a new date for the parliament session, we have to
sit down for dialogue first,' House Speaker Nabih Berri told
reporters at the Lebanese parliament.
Lebanon's parliament has been paralysed over the election of a new
president for over 16 months.
'I will wait a few days until I receive a response from the
majority to sit down for dialogue and then we will set a date for a
new session for the parliamentary session,' Berri said.
Lebanon's parliament on Tuesday was making another attempt to
convene lawmakers from the country's divided factions to elect a
president amid a deep political crisis that has left the post vacant
since November 23, 2007.
Berri said last week that a return to the dialogue table hinges on
favourable positions being taken by all sides, particularly the
majority.
'The issue of resuming dialogue depends on the consent of
different parties, particularly the pro-government side so that we
work together to salvage Lebanon,' Berri said.
Berri also said that the dialogue's agenda was made up of three
points: the election of Army Chief General Michel Suleiman president,
the formation of a national unity government and the 1960 electoral
law.
Berri stressed that logically the dialogue should continue after
the election of a new head of state and the formation of a cabinet of
national unity and that the new president would head the meetings at
the presidential palace.
Hezbollah Member of Parliament Hussein Haj Hassan accused the
majority of 'obstrcting a solution through not agreeing to Berri's
initiative to sit for dialgoue before the parliament session is set
to elect a president.'
Majority MP Amar Houri said 'Berri's initiative does not give
clear guidelines for so-called dialgoue among the factions, it gives
what the opposition wants and their demands.'
'The president of the country should be elected and then all
dialgoues will take place under his supervision,' Houri said.
Parliamentary sessions to elect a successor to head of state Emile
Lahoud have been postponed 17 times since September amid a standoff
between the pro-government camp and the Hezbollah-led opposition on
the formation of the national unity government after General Michel
Suleiman is elected.
The majority wants to elect a president then discuss the issue of
the new government, but the opposition wants to set up the new
cabinet before they agree to elect Suleiman.
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