BEIRUT: A long-awaited deal between Iran and Western powers over Tehran’s nuclear program could help pave the way toward breaking the political deadlock that has left Lebanon with no president for nearly six months, Prime Minister Tammam Salam said Wednesday.
Speaker Nabih Berri, meanwhile, voiced optimism that “external signals,” an implicit allusion to the anticipated deal over Iran’s nuclear program, could eventually lead to the election of a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year tenure ended May 25.
Salam said resolving the presidential election crisis would first require defusing regional tensions, possibly starting with a deal around Iran’s nuclear program, followed by an eventual resolution of Syria’s war.
“Everything is connected. If we are looking toward a solution for our presidency situation in Lebanon, we would also be looking for other solutions for the whole region,” he said in an interview with Reuters at the Grand Serail. “At the moment, unfortunately, there is nothing in light yet.”
Western and Iranian officials held talks this week in Oman, with a deadline for reaching a nuclear deal less than two weeks away.
“I have to admit the government is working at half steam,” Salam said, urging politicians to elect a new president soon. “Nobody can say a body without a head is a complete body, so, yes, we need a head for this country.”
Lawmakers have failed in 14 attempts since April to elect a president over a lack of quorum as March 14 and the rival Hezbollah-led March 8 remain split over a candidate for the country’s top Christian post. Lawmakers last week extended Parliament’s mandate for two years and seven months, citing security concerns and arguing that the move was essential to avert a vacuum in the legislative branch of power.
Diplomatic sources said France was making a new attempt to break the presidential deadlock in Lebanon after two aborted bids in the past few months. “France’s priority now is the presidential election in Lebanon. It has launched moves after having won a comprehensive Western mandate in the hope of opening a hole in the wall of the Lebanese parties’ unyielding stances,” the sources said.
Following the extension of Parliament’s mandate, Berri said efforts were focused on electing a new president and the approval of a new electoral law.
Asked if any progress has been made in the presidential crisis, Berri was quoted by MPs during his weekly meeting with them at Ain al-Tineh: “There are several matters which I don’t want to disclose now. I can say that there are internal contacts and external signals that raise optimism.”
Berri defended the 95 lawmakers who voted for the extension of Parliament’s mandate amid a wave of local and foreign criticism. MP Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, which opposed the extension, said it plans to file a challenge against the extension law with the Constitutional Council.
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Council pledged to secure a quorum in the session designed to discuss the challenge against the law extending Parliament’s mandate. “I confirm that a quorum will not be thwarted again in the Constitutional Council,” Issam Suleiman, the council’s chairman, told a news conference held to celebrate its 20th anniversary. “When we receive the appeal, we will deal with it in accordance with the Constitutional Council’s law.”
The council was unable to meet last year over a lack of quorum to consider appeals submitted by Sleiman and the FPM against the first extension of Parliament’s term after Shiite and Druze council members boycotted the sessions. The council needs eight of its 10 members to convene a session.
“Once the council does not make a decision about an appeal for 30 days, the law will automatically become valid,” Suleiman said. He argued that the council’s internal laws should be amended, so that an absolute majority would be enough for a quorum.
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