Lebanon to elect House Speaker on Thursday

Jun 22, 2009, 17:38 GMT

Beirut - The newly elected 128-member Lebanese parliament is due to convene on Thursday to elect a new House Speaker who will head the legislative body, a Lebanese official said Monday.

The oldest parliament member, Abdellatif al-Zein, who announced the date, said that the only current candidate is Speaker Nabih Berri. Added nominations will be accepted until the day of the vote.

'We want to elect the speaker as soon as possible, so that the MPs and President Michel Suleiman can carry out consultations regarding the next prime minister,' he said.

The re-election of Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah who has held the post since 1992, is considered likely especially as he is 'so far the sole candidate,' said a Lebanese government source who requested anonymity.

The position is reserved for a Muslim Shiite.

The election by fellow MPs on Thursday coincides with parliament's first session, which will be headed by the oldest member of the parliament, according to the parliament's by-laws.

Most of the ruling majority members who won parliamentary elections earlier this month back Berri, the source said.

But some, like the Christian Lebanese Forces headed by Samir Geagea, have reservations. Geagea told the Lebanese daily newsaper An-Nahar that if Berri's candidacy is 'based on the platform put forward by the Hezbollah-led opposition,' he will not vote for him.

Geagea said that his MPs in Parliament will cast blank ballots if Berri does not give the requested guarantees that parliament would not be closed down again, as it was under his speakership for 18 months between 2006 and 2007, crippling the government's work.

After electing a House Speaker, the president will call on the Members of Parliament to start consultations on a new prime minister. The opposition overwhelmingly supports Saad Hariri, sources said.

The Hezbollah alliance and the western-backed ruling majority ran a heated race for seats on June 7 that was won by Hariri's supporters with 71 of 128 seats.