The four major Christian political parties have neared an agreement on the division of districts in a new electoral law based on proportional representation, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said.

The minister told al-Liwaa daily published on Friday that he has information that the Free Patriotic Movement, the Phalange party, the Lebanese Forces and Marada movement have almost completed their proposal on Charbel’s draft-law.

President Michel Suleiman on Wednesday announced that he will resume contacts aimed at relaunching national dialogue, noting that the parties that choose to boycott the upcoming session would be held responsible for the consequences of their decision.

“I will resume my contacts and efforts starting this evening in a bid to relaunch national dialogue on August 16 and I will hold all parties responsible” for failing to participate in dialogue, Suleiman said in a speech he delivered during the annual iftar banquet at the presidential palace in Baabda.

The March 14 General Secretariat praised on Wednesday President Michel Suleiman’s complaint over Syria’s violations against Lebanon in which he requested the Foreign Ministry to file a complaint to Syria through its ambassador to Lebanon,

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “This position helps protect the country from the Syrian regime’s attempts to spread its crisis to Lebanon.”

Premier Najib Miqati expressed regret that the members of the cabinet were not exerting efforts to meet the demands of different sectors in Lebanon, his sources said.

They told al-Liwaa newspaper that he was unilaterally working in confronting the protests while the members of the cabinet were not acting.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour revealed on Wednesday that he sent a memorandum to Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali demanding his country to avoid the recurrence of any border incidents.

Mansour made the revelation to reporters ahead of a cabinet session at the Grand Serail and following two days of harsh criticism by the March 14 opposition on his procrastination in delivering a letter of complaint on Syria’s violations of Lebanese territories in compliance with President Michel Suleiman’s request.

President Michel Suleiman is throwing on Wednesday an Iftar banquet for Lebanese officials, spiritual leaders and foreign diplomats during which he is expected to reiterate the need for dialogue.

Media reports said Suleiman’s speech will focus on the latest developments in the region and the national dialogue session that was postponed to August 16 after the March 14 opposition coalition boycotted this week’s all-party talks.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour said Tuesday he is taking his time to hand a letter of complaint to the Syrian envoy over Syria’s violation of Lebanon’s border because he is trying to first verify “some facts on the ground.”

On Monday, President Michel Suleiman condemned a recent infiltration by Syrian troops into Lebanon’s eastern border region of al-Qaa and the shelling of several border towns, asking Mansour to hand Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali a letter of complaint.

The Syndicate Coordination Committee held sit-ins on Tuesday near several ministries and state institutions across Lebanon to protest the cabinet’s failure to approve the new wages scale.

“The cabinet wants us to suspend our protests without approving the new wages scale for public employees… But we will not back down,” head of Association of Public Secondary School Education Teachers Hanna Gharib told LBC.

The March 14 opposition alliance hailed President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday over his “courageous” request to deliver a letter of protest to the Syrian ambassador over Syria’s repeated violations of Lebanese sovereignty.

“This courageous stance is part of the sovereign positions that the Lebanese people have been missing,” Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel told An Nahar daily.

President Michel Suleiman postponed on Monday the national dialogue session that was set to be held on Tuesday after the March 14 camp announced that it will be boycotting the all-party talks.

The next session will now be held on August 16.