The Kataeb Party Monday called for the immediate election of a president and urged teachers to start grading official exams, following a union announcement that they would boycott grading until the new salary scale is passed.
In a statement after the weekly meeting of its political bureau, the party said that "in light of the dangerous events in Iraq, and the spread of fundamentalist movements in the Arab world," electing a president was necessary so that Lebanon's democratic political institutions would function normally.
The group also pressed teachers to drop their threat to boycott the marking of official exams in case Parliament did not pass a new salary scale this week.
“We call on... the teachers to immediately grade the exams and publish their results, to show mercy to students and allow them to enroll in university,” the party said in a statement.
The party said it supportd a new salary scale that does not harm the economy or affect the Lebanese currency, calling for cooperation among the Cabinet, Parliament, and unions.
