Majority Petition to Parliament Thursday, New Mediation Efforts in the Offing

Majority MPs will submit to Parliament”s secretariat Thursday a petition that urges the legislature to ratify the government”s draft law on a constitutional amendment to enable the election of army chief Gen. Michel

Suleiman as president.

 

An Nahar daily said that ten majority MPs have prepared the petition which urges the legislature to adopt the cabinet”s decision to amend paragraph 3 of article 49 of the constitution and to call for an extraordinary parliamentary session starting January 1, 2008 in the event that the ordinary session set for Saturday to elect a new president ended without success.

 

But the Lebanese media on Wednesday were pessimistic over an 11th bid to vote for a new president, saying Saturday”s session will most probably meet the fate of previous attempts and leave the country without a president until after December 31 when parliament will be in recess.

 

Legislator Ali Bazzi, who is a member of Speaker Nabih Berri”s bloc, reiterated that Berri will reject the draft law from the “unconstitutional” government, saying the move will increase “complications” rather than finding a solution to the political deadlock.

 

Hizbullah, which leads the opposition, also launched a vehement attack on Premier Fouad Saniora”s government Wednesday blaming it for a parcel of alleged violations, including “premeditated” usurping of presidential powers and pledged “new complications” to the already tense situation.

 

Lebanon has been without a president since Emile Lahoud”s term ended in November with feuding politicians unable to agree on how to choose a successor.

 

Meanwhile, An Nahar quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Arab mediation efforts were in the offing after a French initiative to resolve the Presidential crisis was frozen.

 

Diplomatic sources also told Pan-Arab daily Al Hayat that Arab League Chief Amr Moussa was “cautiously” mulling to renew efforts aimed at bringing the views of bickering politicians closer to agree on a new head of state.