Lebanon’s Presidential Elections: Candidates, Conflict, and Stalled Progress

Lebanon’s parliament has failed for the 12th time to elect a new president, and the split between Hezbollah and its opponents threatens to plunge the country into a long-term power vacuum.Add an advertisement

The confrontation in the presidential elections reached its climax between Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and their allies supporting the candidacy of Suleiman Franjieh, the leader of the Marada Movement, on the one hand, and the main Christian forces (the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, and the Kataeb Party), and the Progressive Socialist Party, with independent supporters, who support the candidacy of Jihad Azour. Former Minister and Administrator of the International Monetary Fund.

Lebanon has been without a head of state for more than seven months, and the previous attempt to elect a president took place on January 19.

None of the candidates in Wednesday’s vote received enough support to cross the 64-vote line, with Azour getting 59 votes and Franjieh 51 in the 128-seat parliament.

The President of the Republic in Lebanon is elected in the first voting cycle by a two-thirds majority, i.e. 86 deputies, and an absolute majority (half + 1) is sufficient for the following rounds, according to Article 49 of the Lebanese constitution. Who are the two presidential candidates in Lebanon?

All deputies attended the vote, but many left the room after placing their ballot papers in the box, and the quorum was lost before a second round of voting began.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement that “only consensus and dialogue” would speed up the election of a president, without specifying a date for a new poll.

Who are the two primary candidates?

Jihad Azour says he wants to “contribute to solving” a crisis, not create one.

1) Jihad Azour

Jihad Azour was born in 1966, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master’s degree in Finance from France. He obtained a PhD in economics from the United States.

He was a university professor, then an expert at the International Monetary Fund. He also worked at the World Bank.

He held the position of Minister of Finance in Lebanon between 2005 and 2008 in the Fouad Siniora government during Emile Lahoud’s assumption of the country’s presidency.

Azour said when he announced his candidacy for the position of president, that he wanted to “contribute to resolving” a crisis and not create a crisis, adding that he “does not challenge anyone.”

He added that he wanted to build national unity and implement reforms in a country mired in the deepest crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

What did they say about him?

Azour enjoys the support of the Christian Kataeb Party, the Progressive Socialist Party led by the Jumblatt family, which represents the Druze, and some Sunni representatives.

Sami Gemayel, head of the Christian Phalange Party, described Azour’s support on Wednesday as an “uprising” against “dictates and threats,” referring to accusations that Hezbollah is seeking to impose its preferred candidate, Suleiman Franjieh.

In his Sunday sermon, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rahi hinted at supporting Azour, after the opposition forces agreed on him, especially the two largest Christian blocs in Parliament, namely the “Lebanese Forces” party headed by Samir Geagea, and the “Free Patriotic Movement” headed by Representative Gebran Bassil. Saying that he has a personality that inspires external and internal confidence.

However, the “Hezbollah” group and the “Amal Movement” strongly reject the support of Azour, whose name is associated with the period of the Siniora government, which is strongly opposed to “Hezbollah”, and the financial policies it pursued, especially taxation, which negatively affected the Lebanese people.

Some representatives of “Hezbollah” and “Amal Movement” say that he is a defiant and provocative candidate, and the aim behind his candidacy is to cancel Franjieh’s candidacy and block his access to the presidency.

The Shiite Mufti of Lebanon, Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan, intensified the attacks on Azour on Sunday without naming him, accusing him of supporting Israel, saying: “A president with an American seal will not be allowed.”

Suleiman Franjieh participated in the government more than once, and held more than one ministerial portfolio.

2) Suleiman Franjieh

As for the second candidate, Suleiman Tony Franjieh, he descends from a ruling dynasty, like many prominent political figures in Lebanon. He is a former deputy and minister and enjoys a close relationship with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

He belongs to an ancient political family, his grandfather is the late Lebanese President Suleiman Franjieh, and his father is MP and Minister Tony Franjieh. Suleiman Franjieh heads the Marada Movement, which currently belongs to the opposition, and is a current member of parliament.

Suleiman Franjieh was born in 1965.

He received his education in French schools in Lebanon, and it was his presence in a Beirut school that saved his life from inevitable death in the Ehden massacre, in which his father, the late MP and Minister, Tony Franjieh, his mother, Vera, and his three-year-old sister, Jihan, were killed by the Lebanese Phalangists.

Suleiman engaged in politics at a young age, and he believes in the strength of the relationship with Syria, complementing the close relations between his grandfather, former President Suleiman Franjieh, and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. He was the first to hand over the weapons of the Marada militia to the Lebanese state.

He was appointed as a member of Parliament in 1991 after the Taif Agreement, and at that time he was the youngest deputy in Parliament, and he continued to occupy his seat in Parliament until the last 2005 elections, in which he did not win.

He participated in the government more than once, and held more than one portfolio, including the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Housing and Cooperatives, and then the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, in which he continued as a minister until the government resigned in 2004 after the assassination of Rafik Hariri.

Franjieh is considered one of the biggest opponents of Fouad Siniora’s government and the March 14 coalition, especially the Lebanese forces, whose leader, Samir Geagea, is accused of involvement in the killing of his father.

On the other hand, he maintains a good relationship with former President Michel Aoun and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
He is calling for a national unity government and the enactment of a new electoral law.

What did they say about him?

“If Franjieh succeeds in assuming the presidency in Lebanon, then we will have a lion in Syria and a cub in Baabda Palace,” says Lebanese MP Assem Qanso, a member of the National Leadership of the Arab Socialist Baath Party.

The announcement of the leader of the Future Movement, Sheikh Saad Hariri, of his adoption of Franjieh’s candidacy for the presidency, was a shock to allies and opponents.

Observers say that, with this declaration, Hariri put his allies in the March 14 coalition, especially the “Kataeb” and “Lebanese Forces” parties, in a critical situation, without giving them an opportunity to give an opinion on the political settlement that he is working to formulate.

Franjieh is backed by Hezbollah, as he is a friend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who strongly supports Hezbollah’s right to own arms.
Lebanese press reports had previously indicated that Franjieh’s name had been put forward by the French administration, especially President Emmanuel Macron.

Hezbollah officials had accused those behind delaying Franjieh’s candidacy of prolonging the crisis and serving the West.

Today, Sunday, MP Hassan Fadlallah, who belongs to Hezbollah, said, “We tell them not to tire yourselves and waste time. The candidate of challenge and confrontation will not reach Baabda, whatever his name is,” without mentioning Azour’s name.

Hezbollah and its allies have close ties with Iran and the Syrian government, while their Christian opponents and some Sunni Muslims usually have strong ties to the West and the Gulf states.

Washington warns that it is considering imposing sanctions on Lebanese officials for continuing to obstruct the election of a new president, and says that the state of paralysis will only exacerbate the country’s crises.