Berri would only postpone tomorrow's session on one condition

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri would not postpone Wednesday's session, except on one condition.

Berri assured that the 12th session to elect a president would be held on time, unless Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi asked him to postpone it.

"If the patriarch asked me to replace the session with a dialogue and the parties accepted, only then I would postpone the session," Berri told al-Akhbar newspaper, in remarks published Tuesday.

He added that only al-Rahi can now call for a dialogue, after Berri called for a dialogue twice and the blocs refused it. "I also can no longer call for a dialogue, since I have announced my nomination for Suleiman Franjieh and now I am a party," he said.

But although Berri would not call for a dialogue himself, he considers that the country cannot be ruled without one.

"If a president is elected without consensus and within division, as one party wins and another loses, how can this president designate a prime minister and how could a government be formed," Berri asked.

Lebanon, mired in a crippling economic crisis since late 2019, has been without a president for more than seven months.

The international community has urged Lebanese officials to avoid a prolonged presidential vacuum and enact key reforms required to unlock much-needed IMF loans.

Berri has scheduled a new vote on June 14, after 11 failed attempts to elect a new head of state.

On Sunday, 32 Christian and independent legislators endorsed International Monetary Fund official Jihad Azour after weeks of negotiations. The Free Patriotic Movement and the Democratic Gathering bloc also said they would support Azour, while Hezbollah and Amal renewed their support for Franjieh.

"We will definitely vote for Franjieh," Berri said. "Our camp said it would block the quorum if it sensed that Azour might win and their camp said it would block it as well if they sensed that Franjieh would win."

He added that if Azour garnered more votes than Franjieh in the first round, the impact would only be psychological and would not affect the results of the session or the juncture itself.