Nabih Berri, the chairman of the Shiite Amal movement which supports Syria, on Tuesday won the leadership of the Lebanese parliament for four years. This was for the fourth running times.

The session which is considered the first for the new parliament was attended by full members of the parliament, of whom 90 parliamentarians voted for Nabih Berri, while other 37 parliamentarians voted blank papers. Only one vote was in the name of the Shiite parliamentarian Basem al-Sabe'.

Expectations before the session indicated that Berri would win between 85 to 95 votes after he had got the support of the main parliamentary blocs while Michael Aoun and most of the parliamentarians of Qurnet Shehwan declined to vote for any specific person.

Lebanese parliamentary sources said that despite the fact that the elections in which the alliances of the Lebanese forces opposing Syria achieved a dominant victory for the first time since the civil war which took place between 1975- 1990, precise sectarian balance means that the parliamentarians have no option but to support Berri.

The sources indicated that the alliance of Berri and Hizbullah won the majority of 80% of the Shiite votes in the elections. A matter which makes replacing him as speaker a defiance of the will of a wide segment of the Lebanese people.

However, western diplomats had expressed their hope that Berri will be replaced in order to pave the way before the change of what they described the phase of the Syrian rule. However, the bloc of Saad al-Hariri, son of Rafik al-Hariri, the bloc and of the Druze leader Walid Junblat agreed to the re-election of Berri who has been assuming this post since 1992, after he vowed to support reforms.

It is expected that the re-election of Berri enhances the position of Hizbullah party in confrontation of a UN resolution to dismantle its weapons and to complicate any attempt to remove the Lebanese President Emil Lahoud, the strong alley of Syria.

PHOTO CAPTION

Nabih Berri addresses the Lebanese parliament in Beirut. (AFP)