Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that the first issue which the Lebanese are urged to solve is the presidential vacancy.

Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri stressed that the first issue which the Lebanese are urged to solve is the presidential vacancy.

In remarks published by Lebanese daily an-Nahar on Sunday, Berri said that reaching a deal on an electoral law and electing a Lebanese senate should take place after electing a new head of state.

"In case we agree on electoral law then we are giving a sense of ease to the new president who await him lots of crises in this country," Berri said.

Meanwhile, Berri noted that the new electoral law will be based on proportionality and that the senate will be elected according to the Orthodox law.

The speaker said that if a new head of state is elected then the parliamentary elections will take place according to the new electoral law, while if the Lebanese parties don't agree on a president then the elections will be based on the 1960 law.

In other remarks published also on Sunday, Berri expressed fears that the country is approaching the "verge of the abyss" if the deadlock in Lebanon’s political work prolongs and the presidential vacuum lingers.

"The country can no longer tolerate. What do I do to make everyone believe that we are in danger and approaching the abyss?" Berri told al-Joumhouria daily.