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Beirut: Lebanon's army chief will be elected the country's next president, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in remarks published on Wednesday.
Berri, a leading member of the opposition, said rival Lebanese leaders had agreed on General Michel Sulaiman, even if parliament has yet to elect him to the post empty since November 23 when the pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud left office.
"The story is over. General Michel Sulaiman has become president of the republic," Berri told Beirut's An Nahar newspaper.
The fate of the presidency is the latest stage in a power struggle between the anti-Syrian governing coalition and the opposition led by the pro-Damascus Hezbollah. Sulaiman emerged in the last week as a candidate acceptable to both sides.
Visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, a top international mediator between the feuding Lebanese, arrived on Tuesday for a final push to cement a consensus ahead of tomorrow's session. Kouchner held a joint meeting yesterday afternoon with Berri and legislator Sa'ad Hariri, who leads the parliament majority, state-run National News Agency said. The top French diplomat later only said the meeting was long and 'rich.'
"I'm not saying there were obstacles and I'm not saying there was success," he told reporters, promising to have more news on his mediation efforts today.
Earlier yesterday, Kouchner met with Siniora and Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the head of the influential Maronite Catholic Christian sect.
He also met with army Gen. Sulaiman.
The 128-seat legislature needs to muster a two-thirds quorum to begin the process of voting.
Berri told An Nahar that parliament can amend the constitution and elect Sulaiman within two hours.
Hezbollah 'delaying'
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora yesterday indirectly criticised Hezbollah-led opposition and accused it of delaying a presidential election by setting new conditions. "We should work and push toward carrying out the presidential elections as soon as possible and not shackle the [presidential vote] with obstacles and conditions," Siniora said. "I am confident we are on the verge and at the beginning of a solution."
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