BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun held talks Wednesday with Speaker Nabih Berri over the presidential void that the country plunged into last month.
“We discussed urgent files that need an understanding, mainly the election of a new president and the work of both Cabinet and Parliament in light of presidential void,” Aoun said following his visit to Berri’s Ain al-Tineh residence.
Asked if Berri had told him that he would back his candidacy for the election, Aoun said “Berri is the one entitled to speak for himself and not me.”
He also said that his group was maintaining cooperation and dialogue with the Future Movement, but would not provide further details.
Lebanon has been facing a presidential void since the term of former President Michel Sleiman ended on May 25 with lawmakers failing to elect a new head of state.
Berri has set June 9 as a new date for an electoral session in Parliament, but the vote would need a consensus between political rivals to be achieved.
The presidential void has also created a new challenge for officials who have yet to agree on the mechanism of Cabinet's work in the absence of a head of state. Christian lawmakers also boycotted Parliament's session last week, arguing the assembly should not legislate while the presidency is vacant.
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