BEIRUT, Lebanon - Former cabinet Minister Wiam Wahab said Thursday the ongoing presidential crisis is "open ended", the Taif accord is "dead" and the opposition would shift to "another battle in a few days" to gain veto powers in decision-making.

Wahab, an outspoken figure in the Syrian-backed opposition, made the threats in remarks to reporters after visiting former president Emile Lahoud at the latter's residence in Baabdat, east of Beirut.

The opposition, Wahab said, "will shift to the battle of re-forming the authority … the battle for early parliamentary elections will be launched in days and the presidential election battle will decline to second rank."

"Re-forming the authority is the problem," Wahab added. "Frankly, some people speak of the Taif and adhere to it."

He announced: "The Taif is dead. This is the truth, we should re-form the authority and we should reconsider powers that the Taif took from the presidency."

In answering a question as to whether the presidential crisis would persist for a long time, Wahab said: "Seven or eight months, maybe a year. It is open-ended."

The Hizbullah-led opposition, according to Wahab, wants a national unity government in which it holds a "guaranteeing one third" while the majority gets "half minus one seat … This chance was given a few days, after that the opposition would … demand early parliamentary elections based on a new law." -Naharnet