2023-07-01 15:57:00
The dispute over dialogue deepens the crisis of the Lebanese presidency
The dispute over the dialogue between the Lebanese parties has deepened the presidential crisis, as Hezbollah and its allies are pressing for a dialogue that “does not exclude anyone” from the presidential candidates, in contrast to the refusal of the opponents of the nomination of the head of the “Marada Movement” Suleiman Franjieh to include him among the possible candidates on the dialogue schedule. This excludes the chances of achieving any breakthrough in the existing presidential crisis.
Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, and their other allies support Franjieh’s candidacy for the presidency, while the Lebanese Forces, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Kataeb, and other independents oppose Franjieh’s arrival, and support former minister Jihad Azour. The “Free Patriot” is open to any other candidate who can secure two-thirds of the votes of the members of Parliament in the first electoral cycle (86 deputies), or the presence of two-thirds of the members of Parliament in the second round and the election of the president by a majority of “half plus one” (65 deputies), which is not an issue. It’s still impossible.
And while the Christian forces refuse to “impose a president on us,” as their representatives in parliament say, “Hezbollah” denies imposing a president on anyone, and calls for “unconditional” dialogue. The head of his parliamentary bloc, Representative Muhammad Raad, said in a statement: “We do not want to impose a president on anyone now. Those who do not like the candidate supported by the resistance and the national duo (Hezbollah and the Amal movement) say that we do not want a president imposed by the duo. He added, “We tell them to discuss us, but they say we will not discuss you unless you withdraw your support for this candidate.” Raad asked: “Accordingly, who practices terrorism and imposition? You are the ones who do it.”
And Raad stressed, “We will not accept preconditions for discussion with you.” He said: “We are open to discussion. Come and tell us why you did not like our candidate, and we tell you why we do not like your candidate, and come to discuss the needs and requirements of the current stage, to convince you that our choice is better.” From your choice,” considering that “those who do not want to come to terms with each other want to play with people’s morals and interests.”
And Raad continued: “We are patient and our breath is long, and we are patient out of our desire for stability and coexistence with our partners with whom we differ in vision in this country.” With it, this matter will not work and will not lead to any result.
The Christian forces say that “Hezbollah” imposes a precondition for the dialogue, when it puts Franjieh’s name in the list of names to be discussed, and considers that the party wants dialogue on Franjieh’s name, and rejects the other candidates, which is what “Hezbollah” has repeated during the past weeks by saying that it does not The existence of an alternative plan for the candidacy of Franjieh. The visit of the French presidential envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to Beirut last week failed to achieve any breach in the complex scene, in terms of each party’s insistence on its approach to the presidential file.
Representative Ghassan Skaf, who led an initiative in the past weeks to bridge views between political forces and support Azour’s candidacy, said, “We do not want a dialogue with slogans or preconditions.” He said in a radio statement on Saturday: “We are ready for dialogue and we are trying to move to break the barriers between the components of the country, and we had broken it in the session of June 14 for the presidential elections, when we were able to attract many deputies around the name of the candidate Jihad Azour, but what is required is a dialogue initiative and not a dialogue maneuver with conditions.” A precedent for the basis of dialogue to reassure the Lebanese, and for France to be a sponsor of this dialogue.
While the “Hezbollah” and “Amal Movement” duo cling to Franjieh’s support, his opponents, on the other hand, cling to Azour’s candidacy. A member of the Kataeb bloc, MP Salim al-Sayegh, said, “The candidacy of the former minister, Jihad Azour, is very serious. If we went to a second round on June 14, Jihad Azour would be president today.” He said, “There is a ban on electing a president for the republic in Lebanon by the authority.” Al-Sayegh pointed out, in a televised interview, that “we advised the French envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, as we will advise the next president, not to waste time and talk to the parties. There is one party that must be spoken to, and it is (Hezbollah). It is known what all the parties in Lebanon want. And he believed that “one of the duties of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is to leave the sessions for electing the president open, but Berri called and did not actually call for a session because the axis that follows him disrupted the quorum in the last session,” considering that the election session, in order to be complete, must continue until the election of a president.
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