Berri: My Initiative to Form a Government Remains

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The Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, said that "the decision to assign a prime minister is outside the will of the President of the Republic, but rather stems from the decision of the deputies, that is, the legislative authority, and the one who conducts parliamentary consultations to form the government is the designated president."

Berri added that "in the name of the Lebanese people, I have moved and I am moving, and I have the right to try, at the request of the Prime Minister-designate, to help him in any initiative he may reach, especially since the President of the Republic, who has the authority to sign the decree forming the government in agreement with its Prime Minister, expressed every desire to do so and sent me several messages in this regard and more than one meeting took place to make what was called the Berri initiative a success."

And the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament continued, "The judge would be satisfied as long as the number of ministers increases to 24 and the local issue was resolved until you insisted on eight ministers plus two named by the President of the Republic, who has no constitutional right to even one minister."

He also said, "Everything in Lebanon is broken, the country is collapsing, institutions are eroding, the people are writing, and the wall of Constantinople is collapsing, with the rejection of an initiative approved by the West, the East, and all Lebanese parties except for your honorable side. You made the statement yesterday frankly saying we do not want Saad Hariri as prime minister."

Addressing Lebanese President Michel Aoun, he stressed: "This is not your right, and the decision to assign him is not from you, and the Parliament said its word resoundingly in response to your letter to him. What is required is a solution, not a journey, and the initiative continues."

On Tuesday, the Lebanese presidency said that the references that volunteer to help form the Lebanese government are called upon to abide by the provisions of the Lebanese constitution.

The statement issued by the Presidency's Information Office stressed that "statements and positions from various references interfere with the authoring process, intentionally or inadvertently ignoring what the constitution stipulates," calling for "reliance on the constitution and adherence to its provisions and not expanding its interpretation to establish new norms and establish rules that do not contradict it." 

He considered that "the artificial momentum that some people create in approaching the formation file has no horizon if it does not abide by Article 53, paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the constitution."

Berri had expressed, during his meeting with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Al-Mayadeen Media Network, Ghassan Ben Jeddo, that he was deeply disturbed by the current situation in Lebanon, describing "the continuation of the state of deterioration that will lead to great devastation with unimaginable consequences."

He assured Al-Mayadeen that his initiative to resolve the current political and governmental impasse, has Arab, regional, international, and Western approval, including France.

However, he expressed his deep concern that some cling to impossible conditions that will further complicate matters and not ease them, stressing that, from his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives, he is very keen to respect and implement the Constitution and will not allow it to be targeted, bypassed, or violated under any pretext.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri holds the responsibility to form the Lebanese government, last November after Hassan Diab's government resigned last August, but so far has not been able to form a government.

The United Nations submitted a report that revealed that more than one million Lebanese need continuous support to secure their basic needs, amid a governmental and economic crisis, including food.