By Joseph A. Kechichian

Beirut: Although Speaker Nabih Berri insisted that reaching an agreement on a new electoral legislation would allow Lebanon to end a lingering presidential vacuum, his 19th convocation of the National Dialogue failed to produce a new initiative, though everyone planned to revisit pending concerns at a later date.

On Tuesday, rival leaders returned to the Speaker’s mansion at Ain Al Tineh, even if March 8 and March 14 politicians harboured low expectations for reaching an accord. Berri’s proposal for a new voting system called for holding early parliamentary polls before the election of a president.


Siniora’s stand Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who represented the Future Movement at the National Dialogue sessions, renewed his party’s insistence for the election of a president first to end the current paralysis. He and others rejected any tampering with the Constitution.

لبنان بلد الارز الشامخ يعيش مخاض دامت الامه وما زال يتخبط حتى الان محاولاً استعادة كرامته وكرامة مؤسساته ودور رئيسه في تسيير …

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