The head of the Lebanese Forces party’s foreign relations department said: “There is no veto on the arrival of army commander, Joseph Aoun, as president of the republic.”
And former minister Dr. Richard Kouyoumjian warned in his interview with “Al-Ain News” that a new president for the country would not be elected “soon”, and attributed this to Hezbollah’s insistence on stopping the presidential elections.
And the leader of the Party of Forces, whose parliamentary bloc (the strong republic) is made up of 20 deputies, confirmed that “there are no reliable external initiatives on the horizon, nor names from abroad on the presidential dossier”, so far .
He underlined that Parliament is capable of “Lebanonization of merit” and what it expects is “to awaken the awareness of the internal parties that hinder this path”, referring to Hezbollah.
In his interview, the former minister excluded any meeting or rapprochement between the forces and the “Basilio movement” in the presidential dossier, saying: “We are faced with a disagreement between two strategic visions for Lebanon.
The Lebanese Parliament will hold its 10th session today, Thursday, to elect a new president for the country, after 9 sessions failed to elect him as successor to Michel Aoun, whose term expired on Oct. 31, amid uncertainty politics.
In recent electoral rounds, the White Paper has presided over the appointments of deputies due to disagreements between Hezbollah and its ally, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Representative Gebran Bassil, regarding support for the first candidate, who has not been announced as such . distant. The head of the “Marada” movement, Suleiman Franjieh.. Below is the text of the interview:
repeated scenario
* Today the tenth session will be held in the House of Representatives to elect the new president of the country: do you expect the scenario of the previous sessions to repeat itself or will the session see new data?
Today’s session will hold no surprises, and the scenario of the failed election of the new president of the country from the previous sessions will be repeated, and it will be normal unless President Berri postpones.
The required consensus is still missing: a consensus of at least 86 deputies (out of 128 deputies) for a candidate to win in the first round, or 65 deputies for a candidate from the second round to win in the same session.
Q: What is your comment on the rumors that the Free Patriotic Movement may vote for a specific candidate in today’s session and abandon the White Paper due to its differences with Hezbollah after securing the cabinet session?
I don’t expect it.. It is probable that the Free Patriotic Movement will vote with carte blanche, as in the previous rounds.
The movement’s leader, Gebran Bassil, continues to play Hezbollah’s court, and all his sharp populist rhetoric will soon die. He escalates when he disagrees with Hezbollah on an issue, and when he does, he quickly softens the tone.
No external initiative
* So, is Lebanon waiting for an agreement from abroad to resolve the presidential crisis in light of the parliament’s continued failures to elect a new president?
We don’t expect any agreement from the outside, and we don’t count on any external interference, what we expect is the awakening of consciences by the internal parties that hinder this path. According to the information available, there are no reliable external initiatives on the horizon.
* Talk about Lebanese circles waiting for an external initiative to resolve the crisis has recently intensified after Biden met with Macron What is your comment?
The meeting between the French and American presidents did not touch on the details of the Lebanese situation, but rather on big headlines.
There are no initiatives, agreements, not even names from abroad, and everyone is asking the Lebanese to take the initiative. We are with the “lebanonization of the right” so that the conscience of the unemployed is awakened and they go to elections.
* Is Rep. Michel Moawad still your presidential candidate?
Until further notice, our candidate remains Michel Moawad.
There are no upcoming elections for president
– How long do you think the presidential vacation will last, in light of the fears of its extension and its serious repercussions?
No one can predict how long the presidential job will last, as long as Hezbollah keeps insisting on hindering it.
If Hezbollah had a clear candidate to announce its name and engage with him in the presidential battle, it would have been possible to achieve a result, but as long as this behavior continues, there will be no presidential elections soon.
But we hope that after the end of the year there will be new dynamics. Until the unemployed realize they can’t keep bugging them.
Q: Where is Hezbollah now since the presidential election?
Until further notice, Hezbollah’s candidate is Suleiman Franjieh, and there are attempts to get Gebran Bassil to back him.
The March 8 team (Hezbollah team) has not yet united around a single candidate, which makes it difficult for the party to fight the battle and stop the obstruction, so the situation remains, waiting for new problems that they may arise after the new year. .
* Will we soon see a rapprochement between forces and the Free Patriotic Movement in the presidential dossier?
No, the movement is at the center of the axis of resistance, loyal to Iran and an ally of Hezbollah, they want Lebanon as a stage, the Party of Forces has a vision of sovereign reform and its project is Lebanon as a state. Thus, we are faced with a disagreement between two strategic visions for Lebanon.
* Some have suggested nominating army commander, Joseph Aoun, as a presidential candidate. Could this be a solution to the current crisis?
We did not object to the army chief. Because he demonstrated his competence and ability to lead the army effectively and successfully, he did his job and was able to save this institution during the period it is going through today from difficulties, especially since it is the only effective institution remained in the Lebanese state. institutions. which guarantees the security of the country.
Therefore, we say that if there is agreement on the commander of the army, we will not hinder his election, but at the same time we prefer the presidential candidate to be a civilian politician.
* You rejected Nabih Berri’s call for dialogue before voting again on the election of the president… Was it not possible that dialogue was a way of solution?
We are in elections, not dialogue, and everyone supports the principle of dialogue, but today there is no constitutional commitment to this dialogue, nor a major national crisis that requires dialogue.
Yes, the presidential elections are a big crisis, but they have a solution, which is the democratic electoral path that we have been following, so everyone should go to the elections and stop obstructing them.
We are not a tribal council to discuss this and that, but there is an electoral path to follow.
* How do you read Hezbollah’s latest call? Put the party’s “defense strategy” and weapons on the negotiating table under the aegis of the new president after his election?
Previous experiences of dialogue on defense strategy have all failed. Hezbollah announces every day that it wants to keep its weapons, so what is dialogue? Lies and maneuvering are no longer needed.
* What is required of the new president internally and externally?
We want a president who restores the state’s strategic decision and extends the state’s sovereignty over all its lands with its legitimate military and security forces. We also want from him a neutral foreign policy that restores Lebanon’s relations with its Arab, Gulf and international lands. and we want a reformist, non-corrupt president.
