Rifai: Berri has no right to postpone the presidential-election session

 

Constitutional expert and former MP Hassan Rifai said that Speaker Nabih Berri has no right to postpone the presidential-election session.

 

“He has to be present in the parliament’s chamber of deputies, and if the required quorum is not available, then he can postpone the session,” Rifai told the Saudi daily Okaz.

 

“The way Berri has been postponing sessions from his office is a crime punishable by the Lebanese penal code. He has no right to close the parliament,” he added.

 

According to Rifai, the majority could call on Deputy Speaker MP Farid Makari to hold sessions outside the parliament, as long as they are held in Beirut, in order to elect a president and undertake legislative work.

 

“The parliament is not to be closed, and MPs have the duty to participate in legislative sessions, especially the presidential session,” Rifai said.

 

“The constitution is very clear, but it is being misinterpreted by every political faction in the country,” he added.

“Basically, it is forbidden for the house speaker to be absent from the parliament building, which is considered a crime according to articles 301 to 307 of the Lebanese constitution… If a two-thirds quorum is not attainable, the session is postponed. But presence is a duty,” Rifai said.