Berri: Lebanese Christians won’t accept Aoun as president for 2 years

Lebanon Speaker Nabih was quoted as saying that it is impossible for the Lebanese Christians to accept Free patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun as a president for two years.

In response to a question by one of his visitors in reference to the rumors that a centrist politician ,backed by Hezbollah chief Hasan Nasrallah is proposing the election of Aoun as a temporary president for a period of 2 years Berri was quoted as saying:

“No one brought up such an issue to me but in any case it is impossible for the Lebanese Christians to accept Free patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun as a president for two years.”

Berri adjourned the Sept 2 parliament session to elect a president until September 23, after the Lebanese parliament failed for the eleventh time in a row to elect a president to replace Michel Suleiman whose term ended on May 25. Each time the parliament was unable to reach a quorum because the March 8 MPs affiliated with the Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group and Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc boycotted the sessions.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai slammed the Lebanese politicians on Sunday for keeping the Baabda presidential palace vacant for several months and accused them of being authoritarian .

“No one is more important than the presidency,” he stressed.

Addressing the presidential impasse , Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea , a key member of the March 14 coalition and the first to announce his presidential candidacy told the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Qabas in a report published on Sunday, that he rejects to limit the term of the president, which currently stands at six years.

His refusal came in response to a question on why he would not accept a proposal for his rival Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun to be elected for a term of two years.

Geagea said some centrist officials were making the proposal , a possible reference to PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt

“Shortening the presidential term is rejected because it is prohibited to mess around with the tenure of the head of state,” Geagea stressed