The delegation of the Democratic Gathering brought to the Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Al-Rai, in Bkerke, the set of “constants” that it adheres to, with Taif and national unity at its forefront. And he stressed the need to open a local niche in the issue of the presidency of the republic, allowing for the election of a president as soon as possible. The delegation, which included its head, Representative Taymour Jumblatt, both Representatives Wael Abu Faour and Raji Al-Saad, discussed the many negative repercussions of the inability to elect a president. This was confirmed by the shepherd, who was a listener most of the time, and agreed with him about the priority of the election at this stage.
The visit came in the context of “opening up the democratic meeting to all parties and seeking to strengthen the national partnership, especially after the proliferation of voices that “strive” to talk about federalism directly or evasively. The two parties did not enter into the nominations, but stressed “the necessity of expediting the election of a president.”
After the meeting, Representative Al-Saad spoke on behalf of the delegation, saying that “Bkerke is the foundation of the national partnership, and it is the main supporter of the Taif and the constitution.” He said, “We agree with the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rai, on the importance of adhering to the sect and national unity, and rejecting projects that contradict the coexistence charter.”
He added, “There is no agreement on a specific name for the presidency, but there is a hierarchy of names and the name of the army commander, General Joseph Aoun, is at the fore, and this matter is a result of the meetings that took place between the blocs.” He also stressed that “Patriarch Al-Rahi did not take a position and did not give priority to any name, and no candidate has the support of 65 deputies so far.” He continued, “If there is an agreement on the army commander, we will seek to amend the constitution.”
On the other hand, the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, visited Ain al-Tineh, where he met with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. After the meeting, Jumblatt said: “We are trying to break through some political barriers to reach a consensus that gives us hope to elect a president. There is a four- or five-party meeting to be held in Paris, which does not prevent us from continuing.” from moving inside. He pointed out, “We cannot remain in this vortex by going every week and voting with a white paper and other things, and at the same time, some may have geostrategic calculations.”
Jumblatt added, after meeting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh, “The collapse of the lira is frightening, and the financial engineering carried out by the Central Bank is useless without reforms that begin with the election of a president.” He continued, “We discussed with Speaker Berri the education file, and we talked about electricity, which cannot succeed without reform.”
