Hariri Welcomes Berri's Dialogue Call, Says Presidential Void a Priority
Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri welcomed Sunday Speaker Nabih Berri's decision to call for a dialogue conference in September, while stressing that the priority is for resolving the presidential deadlock.
“We will surely react positively when we receive the invitation. Agreeing on resolving the problem of the presidency would be the proper opening to discuss the other issues,” Hariri tweeted.
He added: “Preserving the government and reactivating the work of parliament are the two pillars of Lebanon’s stability during this period.”
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 due to sharp political disputes between the rival camps and electoral rivalry.
Earlier on Sunday, Berri revealed that he intends to call for a dialogue conference in the first third of September.
“The agenda will tackle the presidency, the work of the parliament and the government, the electoral law, the law on restoring citizenship (for emigrants of Lebanese origin), the administrative decentralization project, and equipping the army,” he said.
The remarks of the two leaders come a day after tens of thousands of protesters from across Lebanon staged a rare non-sectarian mass rally in downtown Beirut against a political class they accuse of corruption and failing to provide basic services.
It followed demonstrations last weekend that descended into violence when some protesters clashed with police.
The demonstration was organized by the "You Stink" movement, which began in response to a crisis that started with the closure of Lebanon's largest landfill in mid-July, resulting in garbage piling up on the streets of the country.
Since then there have been small protests that have broadened to include demands for a political overhaul of government institutions seen as corrupt and ineffective by many Lebanese.
Y.R.
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