A top United Nations political official has reiterated the need for timely presidential elections in Lebanon given that the term of President Michel Suleiman expires on May 25.

Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the 15-member U.N. Security Council that four rounds of parliamentary sessions have so far failed to elect a new president.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday that consultations over the election of a new head of state will remain a local affair even after the constitutional deadline ends on May 25.

“I have asked ambassadors whom I have met not to interfere in the details of this matter,” Berri said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam said he discussed with Saudi officials during his two-day visit to the kingdom the grant to the Lebanese army, the burden of Syrian refugees and the presidential deadlock.

In remarks to al-Liwaa newspaper published on Wednesday, Salam said he thanked Saudi officials on their “generous” three-billion-dollar grant that was announced in late December.

Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is expected to deliver a speech on Sunday that coincides with the end of President Michel Suleiman's tenure.

According to al-Liwaa newspaper published on Tuesday, Nasrallah will make a televised speech at 5:30 pm on the occasion of the Resistance and Liberation day that commemorates the Israeli army’s withdrawal from south Lebanon in May 2000.

President Michel Suleiman has expressed fears that a top member of either the March 8 or 14 alliance would use his power in the country's top Christian post to take vengeance from his foes if he was elected president.

In an interview with As Safir newspaper published on Tuesday, Suleiman said: “I am afraid that one of them could come into office so that he takes vengeance from the others.”

President Michel Suleiman on Monday asked the Constitutional Council to look into the constitutionality of the new rent law.

The state-run National News Agency reported that Suleiman requested the Council to check whether the draft law adheres to Article 19 of the Constitution.

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale stressed on Monday the need for Lebanese officials to hold the presidential elections and avoid vacuum in the country's top post.

He said after holding separate meetings President Michel Suleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri: “We urge Lebanon’s leaders to conduct the presidential election on time and in accordance with the constitution.”

Speaker Nabih Berri called on Monday for a parliamentary session to tackle a message sent by President Michel Suleiman to the parliament regarding the presidential elections.

The session is set to be held on Wednesday at noon.

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Asiri has denied that Riyadh's grant to the Lebanese army was targeted at Hizbullah and its allies, stressing that rapprochement between the rival parties would pave way for the election of a “made in Lebanon president.”

“Isn't the Lebanese army for all of Lebanon and the Lebanese?” he asked in an interview published on Monday.

Head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad stressed Sunday that the country's next president must be “keen on the resistance” and on the so-called army-people-resistance equation.

“Only a candidate who is keen on the resistance ... and who really wants to build a state of law and institutions can reach the presidential seat,” Raad said during a Hizbullah ceremony in the southern town of al-Kfour.