Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Miqati expressed on Monday solidarity with the army over the clashes in the eastern town of Arsal near the border with Syria, saying that it has the full political cover.

“What happened in Arsal is a crime against the whole nation,” Berri said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.

The electoral subcommittee aimed at studying various parliamentary electoral laws is set to resume on Monday, reported the daily An Nahar Sunday.

Speaker Nabih Berri's circles told the daily that he will refer former Prime Minister Saad Hariri's initiative to the joint parliamentary committees once he receives it.

Speaker Nabih Berri received on Wednesday a telephone call from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to discuss the latest developments, announced the latter's press office in a statement.

The two officials stressed the need to preserve national unity and “maintain the principles of coexistence” in line with the Taef Accord, especially in light of the challenges Lebanon is facing on the local and regional scenes.

The joint parliamentary committees have extended the mission of an electoral subcommittee for 15 days to discuss starting Monday a hybrid draft-law that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems, MP Robert Ghanem said.

Ghanem's announcement came following a two-hour meeting that the joint committees held on Wednesday under Speaker Nabih Berri and in the absence of al-Mustaqbal movement, which has boycotted all government-related activity.

The electoral subcommittee completed on Tuesday its report on the discussions over the electoral draft laws.

MP Robert Ghanem announced that the report will be referred to the joint parliamentary committees that are scheduled to convene on Wednesday.

The March 8 majority alliance and March 14 opposition officials intensified separate talks on Monday, two days ahead of a meeting of joint parliamentary committees on an electoral draft law.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora visited Baabda palace for talks with President Michel Suleiman on several proposals and “the importance of agreeing on a modern electoral law that produces political plurality in line with the constitution,” a presidential statement said.

Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday slammed Interior Minister Marwan Charbel without naming him, saying those who believe that they can hold the parliamentary elections based on the 1960 law are “ignorant.”

“The polls will not be held based on the 1960 law,” Berri told As Safir newspaper. “Those who think it is possible to hold them based on this law if (MPs) failed to agree on a new law are in ignorant of the legal and constitutional reality surrounding.”

Al-Mustaqbal MP Jamal al-Jarrah said Monday that his parliamentary bloc hasn't yet decided whether it would participate in the meeting of joint committees on a new electoral draft-law despite the announcement of two of its allies that they would not boycott the session.

“Al-Mustaqbal hasn't yet made up its mind on the participation in the joint parliamentary committee meetings,” al-Jarrah told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3).

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Sunday announced that ministers concerned with drafting a new electoral law will attend the meeting of the joint parliamentary committees on Wednesday.

“The government has been invited and the relevant ministers will attend the session,” Miqati told reporters after a one-hour meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh.

The Lebanese Forces party on Sunday announced that it will participate in Wednesday's meetings of the joint parliamentary committees despite its boycott of government's work, revealing that an alternative to the Orthodox Gathering's electoral law is gaining “momentum” behind the scenes in parliament.

“Although the LF is boycotting government, it is facilitating everything related to the parliamentary elections,” LF bloc MP George Adwan said in an interview with MTV.