Berri Asks Members of his Bloc to Run in Parliamentary Elections

Speaker Nabih Berri has asked the members of his parliamentary bloc to submit their candidacies for the elections as a move aimed at sending a clear message of his rejection to extend the legislature's mandate.

Al-Joumhouria newspaper said that Berri telephoned all members of his Development and Liberation bloc to urge them to announce their candidacies starting Friday.

The speaker, who also heads the Amal Movement, has repeatedly stated his rejection to extend parliament's term for the second time.

Last year, the rival MPs extended their tenure until November 2014 ofter they failed to agree on a new electoral draft-law.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq issued a memo on Thursday detailing the documents needed for those seeking to run in the elections on November 16.

The memo was based on a decree that he issued earlier his month, calling on the electoral bodies to elect lawmakers.

It stated that nominations will be accepted from August 28 to September 16.

In addition to his call on the members of his bloc to run for the legislative elections, Berri invited for a new session to election a president next Tuesday.

He told officials, who visited him on Thursday, that there was no breakthrough in the presidential deadlock and that the parliamentary session would likely face the same fate of its predecessors.

Lebanon has been without a president since May 25 when Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended amid differences between the rival parliamentary blocs on a compromise candidate.

Several blocs have boycotted the sessions aimed at finding a successor to Suleiman, causing lack of quorum.

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