Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that he does not intend to change the date of tomorrow’s presidential election session, despite the objection of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the party declaring a boycott.
Given that October 13 anniversary is a sensitive topic for the FPM, Berri asked: “Is October 13 an official holiday? No, not as far as I know. I only abide by the official holidays and nothing else.”
He also said that those who fail to attend the session would bear the responsibility for their stance, and should there be no quorum, he will set another date.
MP Ghayyath Yazbek of the Lebanese Forces (LF) said that the LF bloc will take part in the session: “With all due respect to the October 13 anniversary, this issue cannot be tackled in a political way.”
Asked about the candidates of the Change bloc, Nassif Hitti, Ziad Baroud, and Salah Honein, Yazbek described them as respectable figures but added that the LF does not believe that any of them can rescue Lebanon amid the current circumstances.
Yazbeck stressed that the LF does not intend to nominate someone other than MP Michel Mouawad.
