Machnouk says reelection of Berri not up for debate

The reelection of Speaker Nabih Berri is not up for debate, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said in a statement released Tuesday.
“We are with [Berri] … contrary to what has been reported that the Future Movement will not [vote again] for Berri after the parliamentary elections,” Machnouk said during a meeting with Beirut residents.
Machnouk added that Berri had always proved his nationalism and Arabism and that voting for him “is not a subject up for discussion.”
In contrast to previous elections, the interior minister said elections in Beirut will not just be about seats this time around. “Rather [they’re about] strategic choices and Beirut’s Arabism and political identity,” he said.
But Machnouk was quick to say that his tone was not sectarian, rather that Beirut has been an Arab city for hundreds of years and “it will remain Arab.” He called on voters to show up in large numbers in order to “open the door” for change in the city.