Berri's Presidential Elections Committee to Study Roadmap

A three-member committee formed by Speaker Nabih Berri is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to come up with a roadmap for its talks with political parties on the presidential polls, two MPs from his parliamentary bloc said.

MP Ali Osseiran, who is a member of the committee made up from Development and Liberation bloc lawmakers, said: “We will meet today to specify the roadmap for our tour on political parties to guarantee a quorum for a parliamentary session” to elect a new president.

In remarks to pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, Osseiran expected the meetings to start next week.

The other members of the committee are MPs Michel Moussa and Yassine Jaber.

Berri told As Safir newspaper on Monday that the members of the committee would start consulting the parties on the polls in conjunction with talks that he would hold with the same sides to guarantee the appropriate atmosphere to hold the parliamentary session.

President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ends in May but the Constitution states that the parliament should start meeting March 25 to elect a new head of state.

No one has yet officially announced his candidacy for the top post. But there are several contenders from the rival March 8 and 14 camps.

Development and Liberation bloc MP Ali Khreiss also said Wednesday that Berri would have called for a session immediately had he been sure that the election of a new president would have been an easy process.

The committee's mission is to seek the opinion of the different parties on the polls, including the qualities of the president they'd like to see at Baabda Palace, he told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5).