Presidential Election Session Postponed Anew over Lack of Quorum
Speaker Nabih Berri postponed on Wednesday a parliamentary session to elect a new president to February 18 over lack of quorum.
The 18th session was adjourned over ongoing disagreements between the rival parties on the character of the presidential candidate.
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun is still the candidate of the March 8 camp in the face of Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, the nominee of the March 14 forces.
The rivalry between the two men has led to a lack of quorum in 16 electoral sessions in parliament, amid a boycott by the MPs of Aoun and Hizbullah.
The presidential seat has been vacant since president Michel Suleiman's term ended on May 25.
Geagea said in a press conference later that the only solution to end the presidential deadlock “would be by pressing the boycotting blocs to attend the election session.”
He pointed out that the dialogue between the FPM and the LF “is not tackling points of contention, including the presidential stalemate.”
“The matter has been put aside as we are discussing other issues.”
Geagea stressed that his party rejects “any cooperation between the Lebanese army and any Syrian faction, in particular the regime” of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
On Tuesday, the Change and Reform bloc urged the army to finish its battle with extremist groups along the eastern border, saying it should bolster its positions and put an end to the infiltration of terrorists.
Former Minister Salim Jreissati said at the end of the bloc's weekly meeting: “We call for cooperation between the Lebanese and Syrian armies to achieve this goal.”
Eight soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in clashes with terrorists in the Tallet al-Hamra region in Ras Baalbek on Friday.
Syria's civil war has regularly spilled into Lebanon, with jihadists briefly overrunning the northeastern town of Arsal in August after gun battles with the army.
H.K.
M.T.
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