By Xinhua,
Beirut : Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has invited Prime Minister Fouad Seniora and his government to take part in the scheduled presidential election on Sunday, The Daily Star reported on Saturday.
“Berri wants Sunday’s session to be a national ceremony,” sources close to Berri was quoted as saying.
“All ministers will attend … the ones in office as well as the resigned ones … this is not a problem at all,” the sources added.
Referring to earlier reports said Berri was not willing to invite the government, which the opposition describes as illegitimate, the sources said that were “untrue.”
The election session, scheduled to be held in parliament at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) Sunday, will also be attended by a number of Arab and international guests.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who brokered the recent agreement between Lebanese rival parties, is among the expected guests.
Berri on Friday invited Arab foreign ministers to attend the election session.
The European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Javier Solana and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will attend the session, according to the report.
Lebanon had faced the most complicated political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, as political rival groups were unable to achieve a breakthrough to elect a new president for the country since Nov. 24 when ex-president Emile Lahoud ended his term last year.