BEIRUT, 29 June 2005 — Lebanese MPs re-elected a prominent pro-Syrian Shiite as speaker yesterday at the inaugural session of the first Parliament since the 1975-90 civil war not controlled by pro-Damascus factions. Nabih Berri, who had held the post for the past 13 years under pro-Syrian regimes, was re-elected by 90 votes to one in the 128-member legislature.
The other 37 ballots were spoiled marking the disapproval of Christian and leftist lawmakers over the pro-Damascus MP’s retention for a fourth term.
The candidate of the Future Movement of Sunni leader Saad Hariri — Bassem Sabeh — received just a single vote. His party and its allies in the main opposition bloc had given their support to Berri on condition he not obstruct certain key reforms.
Faced with the unlikely prospect of beating Berri, another rival candidate, former Speaker Hussein Husseini, had taken himself out of the running.
Druze leader and opposition MP Walid Jumblatt said the alliance had backed Berri as the Shiites were a community “that cannot be marginalized because of its political and demographic weight.”
Under Lebanon’s sectarian system, the speakership is reserved for the Shiite community. One person was wounded by celebratory gunfire in Beirut which erupted straight after Berri’s re-election, medics said. Berri opposes the disarmament of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which the United States considers a terrorist organization.
The disarming of Hezbollah, a key UN demand, is likely to be one of the thorniest issues facing the new Lebanese government that has yet to be formed following parliamentary elections that wrapped up more than a week ago.
