The President of the Parliament, Nabih Berri, hopes that September will be the month of decisive action regarding the presidential issue, as he monitors responses to his initiative; the matter is only a few days away, and once it is complete, appropriate actions will be taken.
Berri recalled the series of dialogue initiatives he has launched to reach a consensus on a presidential solution, stating to the newspaper "Al-Joumhouria" that his initiative is the last opportunity that should not be missed if we genuinely want to alleviate our country's plight, end the presidential crisis, and elect a president.
He adds: The essence of the invitation is that everyone, without exception, comes to the dialogue table, with each team appointing representatives for the discussion. As is known, there are "two blocs" in the Parliament: one bloc wants dialogue first, then elect a president, while the other bloc wants to elect a president first and then engage in dialogue. The call for a seven-day dialogue aims to accommodate both blocs, allowing us to sit together at one table, discuss, and engage with sincere intentions while addressing all issues related to the presidential file. If we agree on one candidate, that would be great for the country; if not, we can agree on two candidates or more, and then we will go directly to the Parliament to elect the president.
Berri insists that regardless of the outcome of this dialogue, whether it succeeds or fails, he will go to the Parliament to hold consecutive sessions until the white smoke rises, as happens in the Vatican, and we elect the president. He states: In September, we must draw the finish line for the crisis, and I see it as a duty for everyone to elect a president in this month. What I hope for is that the dialogue meets the aspirations of the Lebanese people, allowing us to celebrate this election before the end of September. We will then turn our attention to restoring order to our political life, starting with forming a government to begin its duties in combating the crisis and taking steps and measures to revitalize and uplift the country.
Berri emphasizes that the foundation of the dialogue is maintaining a quorum. When we call for a dialogue with sincere intentions, it means that the quorum is a settled matter. When we talk about consecutive sessions until the election of the president, it refers to sessions with a full quorum (as stipulated in Article 49 of the Constitution), not sessions like the previous 12, which failed due to lack of quorum. In this case, we remain in our position.
