BEIRUT, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Saturday renewed his call for parliamentary blocs to hold talks to end the deadlock over the country's presidential election.
Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022, when the term of former President Michel Aoun ended. Political divisions and a lack of agreement among parliamentary blocs have resulted in failed attempts to elect a new president since September 2022.
"Come tomorrow to consult under the parliament's roof to reach a consensus on a president that Lebanon and the Lebanese deserve at this critical moment in its history," Berri said in a televised speech.
Berri, who also heads the Shi'ite Amal Movement, said his party was "the first to call for all political and parliamentary parties to seize the current regional moment to expedite the election of a president under the constitutional framework, without imposing a veto on any candidate."
Lebanon is facing a deep financial crisis, worsened by the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel along the southern border. The country urgently needs to elect a president and form a new cabinet to implement reforms and steer the country towards recovery. ■
