The media office of Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri issued a clarification on Monday addressing reports by Asharq Al-Awsat about postponing parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2026.
In a statement, the office said Berri’s remarks were confined to describing a general atmosphere within the Quintet Committee that leans toward delaying the vote.
It emphasized that Berri did not refer to any ambassador, whether from the Quintet or elsewhere, noting that the clarification came in response to earlier media reports.
Earlier on Sunday, the Lebanese Speaker stressed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the elections will be held on time.
he said he had conveyed this position to the ambassadors of the quintet committee countries, who want to delay the polls.
“I do not support the postponement or the extension of parliament’s term,” he added.
“I was the first to announce my nomination,” he noted, explaining that he did so to block claims that he wanted to delay the elections and extend the term of parliament.
“This is a message to whom it may concern inside Lebanon and beyond: I am committed to seeing the elections through to the end,” Berri declared, saying he had advised several members of his Amal movement to submit their candidacies.
Moreover, the speaker said the postponement “was not justified.”
Also in his remarks, Speaker Berri commented on the latest Israeli strikes on Lebanon that targeted the central and northern Bekaa in the east. He described the attacks as a “new war aimed at pressuring the country to surrender to Tel Aviv’s conditions.”
Later on Sunday, media outlets then reported that Speaker Berri said that the US envoy Michel Issa requested postponing the elections.
Source: Al-Manar English Website