The media office of the "Lebanese Forces" party issued a statement indicating that "Speaker of the House Nabih Berri reiterated today the equation of 'dialogue in preparation for the presidency,' expressing his full readiness to invite for dialogue or consultation immediately to prepare for the election of a president, if those concerned are ready to respond to this invitation based on dialogue, hence, the presidency."
It stated: "In light of President Berri's repeated equation, it is essential to reiterate the following constitutional principles:
1. The constitution does not stipulate any form of dialogue preceding the presidential elections, and we reiterate our commitment to implementing the constitution as is, away from any amendments or new customs.
2. The constitution clearly states that elections take place on the basis of an open session with consecutive rounds until a president is elected, and there is no presence of any customs such as dialogue prior to these elections.
3. The presidential elections are the responsibility of the House of Representatives through voting until a president is elected, and attempting to place the presidential file in the hands of the Speaker of the House is a violation of the constitution, the pact, customs, and traditions.
4. The presidential vacancy is the responsibility of the obstructive team that hinders the election of a president by exiting the election sessions after the first round.
5. Dialogue has various forms, away from creating customs or attempting to place presidential elections in the hands of the Speaker. The parliamentary opposition has presented several approaches to dialogue, but it has become clear that what is required is not dialogue but rather imposing the will of the obstructive team on the Lebanese people."
It added: "Regarding President Berri's statement that 'some are wasting their time, and worse, they are wasting opportunities for the country,' if he relies on the current battle leading to weakening the 'Hezbollah' and 'Amal Movement' duo to enable him to alter the internal balance of power and achieve political gains, then aside from being regretful, this statement is completely incorrect because the one who has obstructed the election of a president since the first session, long before the war, is the obstruction, as per the experience of 12 electoral sessions in which the entire opposition participated and were disrupted by the obstruction through exiting after the first round."
The media office requested from President Berri "to call for a presidential election session tomorrow and to commit to participating in an open session until a president is elected so that it can be revealed for the 13th time who wants to elect a president and who disrupts the presidential elections." It stated: "President Berri, the axis of obstruction is the one disrupting the presidential elections, as they only want their presidential candidate, and because they are awaiting the results of the war, you can prove otherwise very simply by calling for a presidential election session tomorrow and allowing the democratic electoral process to take its course as it should so that we can have a president in a single day."
