By Xinhua,
Beirut : Lebanese majority leader Saad Hariri on Monday pledged that majority MPs would elect a president on May 13, local Naharnet news website reported. Hariri, who is also Mustaqbal Movement leader, made the remarks after talks with Druze Spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hassan in Beirut, said the report.
“We haven’t received any guarantees, but we are in a path that leads to the election of a president on May 13. All March 14 MPs would go to parliament to elect a president,” Hariri was quoted assaying.
“If we decide to engage in dialogue (called for by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri) we want to know that we would elect a president on May 13,” said Hariri, adding that “as long as no one is against dialogue, no one should be against electing a president on May 13.”
Hariri said Lebanon is the only country in the world that does not have a president, which is “a major crime committed against us and against the country.”
The ruling coalition previously rejected Berri’s dialogue initiative, accusing him to be an opposition leader who can not sponsor dialogue, and they refused to open dialogue before electing a new president.
Lebanon is facing the most complicated political crisis since1975-1990 civil war. Lebanese political rival groups are unable to achieve a breakthrough to elect a new president for the country, which has been without a president since Nov. 24 when ex-president Lahoud ended his term.