A meeting held in parliament between top March 8 officials was planned and aimed at consolidating the new parliamentary majority which hasn’t been able to form a cabinet since Premier-designate Najib Miqati’s nomination in January, media reports Thursday.

The meeting was held on Wednesday on the sidelines of a legislative session and gathered Speaker Nabih Berri, Miqati, Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat, head of Hizbullah’s Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad, Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, head of the Lebanese Democratic Party MP Talal Arslan and chief of the Syrian Social National Party Assaad Hardan.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati held a meeting Wednesday evening with caretaker Energy and Water Minister Jebran Bassil, Speaker Nabih Berri’s political aide MP Ali Hassan Khalil and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s Political Assistant Hussein Khalil, LBC television reported.

Earlier Wednesday, a meeting was held at the parliament between Miqati, Speaker Berri, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun and Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday his ongoing respect for the Taef Accord and parliament’s internal system, stating that his call for a parliament session was constitutional.

He said during a press conference at parliament: “We oppose the monopoly of power and as parliament speaker, I cannot stand idly by as the constitution is being neglected.”

Premier-designate Najib Miqati unveiled on Wednesday that he agreed with Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on the need to take the necessary steps to facilitate the cabinet formation process.

Miqati told reporters in parliament that he held with Aoun closed-door talks during which they “reached an understanding on the next steps to facilitate the task of the prime minister-designate as part his constitutional authorities.”

National Struggle Front bloc leader Walid Jumblat said Wednesday that he confirmed his alliance with Speaker Nabih Berri and Premier-designate Najib Miqati during talks they held along with several MPs at parliament.

The Druze chief told al-Jadeed TV that the meeting he held with Miqati, Berri and MPs Michel Aoun, Suleiman Franjieh, Mohammed Raad, Talal Arslan and Assaad Hardan, all members of the March 8 forces, was a “nice coincidence.”

Speaker Nabih Berri postponed on Wednesday a parliamentary session to June 15 over lack of quorum which came following the rejection of Walid Jumblat’s seven-member National Struggle Front bloc to attend.

Beirut newspapers had already expected the session not to be held over lack of quorum. Premier-designate Najib Miqati and his Tripoli allies, MPs Ahmed Karami and Mohammed Safadi, confirmed last week that they will not attend the session which had 49 items on its agenda, among them the renewal of Central Bank governor Riyad Salameh’s mandate.

President Michel Suleiman and Caretaker Premier Saad Hariri have given their consent to a proposal to hold an extraordinary cabinet session to renew the mandate of Central Bank governor Riyad Salameh, An Nahar daily said Wednesday.

The newspaper reported that Suleiman and Hariri accepted such a proposal as an alternative to Speaker Nabih Berri’s call to hold a parliamentary session that in addition to the mandate’s renewal has 48 other items on the agenda.

The March 14 forces are accusing Speaker Nabih Berri of seeking to revive the confrontation between them and the March 8 coalition by insisting on holding a parliamentary session on Wednesday.

An Nahar daily on Tuesday quoted March 14 parliamentary sources as saying that Berri’s “unconstitutional” move would pave way for a bigger conflict than the existing dispute between the two sides.

Speaker Nabih Berri said that he was surprised by the “fabricated” campaign against him, denying that he was after personal gains by insisting on holding a parliamentary session on Wednesday, As Safir reported on Tuesday.

He hinted that the dispute between the March 8 and 14 forces over the parliamentary session reflects the mentality of the “Emirate” that al-Mustaqbal movement officials have, which endangers the future of the democratic system and its institutions in Lebanon.

No major breakthroughs in the government formation have been reported in the past few hours, while concerned officials have maintained their optimism over the matter, reported al-Liwa on Monday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati held talks on Sunday with Speaker Nabih Berri’s advisor MP Ali Hasan Khalil on the formation process.