Naharnet

Berri Hosts Hariri over Dinner to Discuss Latest Developments

Speaker Nabih Berri held talks on Tuesday night with head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri on the latest developments in Lebanon.

The speaker hosted the lawmaker to a dinner banquet at his Ain el-Tineh residence.

The two officials addressed Berri's proposal to end the political impasse in Lebanon.

The suggestion calls for shortening the term of parliament and electing a new one. The 1960 electoral law would be adopted in the polls should the political parties fail to agree on a new one.

This will then be followed with the election of a new president and eventual formation of a national unity government.

The Mustaqbal Movement had repeatedly voiced concerns over staging the parliamentary elections before the presidential ones, explaining that once a new parliament is formed the cabinet would automatically be forced to resign therefore creating more vacuum in the country in the absence of a head of state.

Berri's proposal has been generally positively accepted by political powers, with some reservations being expressed over the 1960 law.

Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor.

Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps have thwarted the polls.

M.T.


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