.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1 "Michel Moawad, the rebel candidate of Hezbollah, who refuses the presidency for “agreement”")
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Despite the post having been vacant for about a month, Lebanese parliament failed on Thursday for the eighth consecutive time to elect a president. As the process of electing the president of the state, initiated by the House of Representatives at the end of last September, is still suspended, due to the failure to reach a political agreement among the representatives due to deep divisions in light of the accelerating collapse economic that the authorities are unable to contain. So far, only the opposition deputy Michel Moawad, son of former president Rene Moawad, who was assassinated in 1989, has formally presented his candidacy.
After a six-year term for the Lebanese president Michael Aunit ended on October 31, and for the eighth time in a row it failed on Thursday Lebanese representatives The 128 who are constitutionally charged with electing his successor, to keep the post of head of state vacant.
52 MPs went to the polls with a white paper, while MP Michel Moawad, supported by the Lebanese Forces led by Samir Geagea and other blocs, including the bloc of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, obtained 37 votes.
In the first round of voting, a candidate needs a two-thirds majority, or 86 votes, to win this position reserved for Maronite Christians, so that if a second round is held, the required majority will be 65 votes out of 128. which is the number of members of parliament.
Today’s result, very similar to that of the previous sessions, does not diminish the determination of Michel Moawad, a graduate in public law from the Sorbonne University “Paris II Pantheon Basis”. He is French-speaking and well aware of the challenges and dangers politicians face in Lebanon, and aspires to assume the highest offices in his country.
Politics is a family legacy
Michel Moawad was born in Beirut in 1972. He is a father of four, son and political heir of former President René Moawad, who was assassinated on November 22, 1989, on the 46th anniversary of Lebanon’s independence and two weeks after his election on 5 November.
Rene Moawad was killed in an explosion that targeted his convoy in an area that was under the control of Syrian forces in Beirut. His family attributed the operation to Damascus and so far neither the perpetrators of the attack nor those who committed it have been convicted.
Like his late father, who had the image of a reformist and moderate politician, Michel Moawad calls for the sovereignty of Lebanon and the reconstruction of a strong state.
In an interview with France 24 in early November, he confirmed: “I am not running after a position, but I am defending a cause… the cause of Lebanon“.
He is believed to have demonstrated this when he resigned from his post as MP, five days after the deadly double blast that hit the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020.
It is a renunciation which he considers a “political act” which denounces the incapacity of the government, as well as of the Chamber, to assume their responsibilities, and the impossibility of reforming the system from within.
Michel Moawad was re-elected in Zgharta during the last legislative elections last May, the same constituency that won his father, and then his mother, Naela Moawad, after the assassination of her husband, vacant minister of social affairs from 2005 to 2008 .
This, and the sovereign politician dreams of unifying the ranks of the scattered opposition, considering it a prerequisite for changing the political situation in a country whose economy has been collapsing day after day since October 2019, explaining: “I am convinced that if the opposition does not unite … behind a common vision and a candidate whose mission is to restore the state And the trust will turn into a dispersed opposition that has no influence on the political life and the completion of the situation in Lebanon at all levels com ‘and today .
Michel Moawad also believes that if he can form a unified bloc of 65 opposition MPs, it will be easier to influence the political scene, stating, “We have to make a real deal with Hezbollah and those around it… but there is a big difference between reconciliation and agreement…”
He is betting on his ability to attract other deputies, including Sunnis and others who arrived in Parliament after the popular protests that swept Lebanon starting October 17, 2019.
A candidate for the challenge according to Hezbollah
Difficult to win the bet, especially since Michel Moawad, considered a staunch opponent of all forms of political hegemony and Hezbollah’s weapons, considers him and his allies the candidate for the challenge.
His critics accuse him of political opportunism, and cite his proximity to Washington or his joint list with the candidates of the party of President Michel Aoun, the political ally of the Shiite party, during the legislative elections of 2018, for which he later expressed regret.
The support of the most important traditional opposition forces, including the two Christian parties (Lebanese Forces and Kataeb) and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) for the Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, is considered a further impetus for the Lebanese politician, who is now refusing the concept of a consensual president. Whereas “the deal brings a gray president who has no color or resolve and completes the rule of arms and corruption over the Lebanese state…and reconciliation…confirms Lebanese sovereignty and state institutions…”
Faced with questions from observers who believe that there can be no president-elect in Lebanon without a prior agreement between the regional powers that have influence in the region and intend to play a role in Beirut, on a par with Iran and Saudi Arabia, and with the green light by major powers such as the United States and France, Moawad urges his colleagues We are called to elect a president for Lebanon, we are not waiting for a regional or Arab agreement, an American-Iranian dialogue or a French move. It’s a shame… What is needed is that we go to the House of Representatives and elect a president of the republic… This requires all representatives to exercise their constitutional and political duties…”
Ultimately, this message may not be echoed next Thursday in Beirut.
Text: Mark Daou Prepared for Arabic by: Fares Bouchieh
