2023-06-05 09:28:24
Jihad Azour (archive from Archyde.com)
After more than 7 months of presidential vacancy, 32 deputies were announced LebanonOh, Sunday, the nomination of the official in the International Monetary Fund, former Minister Jihad Azour, for the presidency of the Republic.
For weeks, the most prominent Christian parties, the Lebanese Forces, the Free Patriotic Movement, and the Kataeb, have been seeking to agree on Azour in a country where the first three presidencies are distributed on a sectarian basis: the Presidency of the Republic for the Maronites, the Presidency of the Parliament for the Shiites, and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers for the Sunnis.
The announcement of Azour’s candidacy follows intense contacts between opposition blocs and the Free Patriotic Movement, the most prominent Christian ally of Hezbollah and who opposed it on the issue of the presidency of the republic, ending with a “intersection” on Azour’s name. Hezbollah and the Amal Movement support the candidacy of the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Franjieh.
“non-provocative”
During a press conference, Representative Mark Daou read a statement on behalf of 32 deputies announcing Azour’s candidacy “as a moderate convergence candidate that is not provocative to any political component in the country.”
This sparked social media. While supporters of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement criticized Azour’s candidacy, I raised my voice in support. Where some said that the “Shiite duo” considers its candidate for the presidency “to be a candidate of settlement and consensus, and any other candidate is a candidate of challenge and confrontation.”
Others saw that “the Shiite duo is betting on dispersing the votes of the Free Patriotic Movement in order to break the unprecedented Christian consensus on Azour’s jihad, so it is trying to market that Gebran Bassil cannot appoint more than 11 deputies from his bloc.”
“Zalmat Siniora”
To that considered another segment of theLebanonI believe that Azour represents only one facet of the system, albeit in a lighter form, describing him as “Siniora’s man”, meaning former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
While some also stressed their support for the army commander, Joseph Aoun, saying that they do not see “salvation for Lebanon” unless Joseph Aoun becomes president.
opposition blocks
It is noteworthy that the 32 deputies represent opposition blocs, most notably the Lebanese Forces party, which has a strong parliamentary bloc, and the Christian Phalange, as well as MP Michel Moawad, independent deputies, and a few others belonging to the Changeists bloc emanating from the protests once morest the political class in 2019.
They previously supported Moawad, who was the first to run for the position, before announcing on Sunday that he had withdrawn his candidacy to give Azour an opportunity. Hezbollah officials had previously described Moawad as a “challenging” candidate.
The head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, who rejected Franjieh’s candidacy, announced the “intersection” of his party with other parliamentary blocs named following Azour, despite the rivalry that brings him together with a number of them.
In addition, local media reported that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called for a new parliamentary session to elect a president on June 14. So far, no party has a parliamentary majority that enables it to field its candidate.
failed 11 times
Azour holds the position of Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, and he held the position of Lebanese Minister of Finance between 2005 and 2008. Azour holds, according to the IMF website, a doctorate in international financial sciences and a higher degree in international economics and financial sciences.
It is noteworthy that Parliament has failed since the end of the term of former President Michel Aoun at the end of October, over the course of 11 sessions in electing a president, amid a division between a party that supports Hezbollah and another that opposes it, and discrepancies within each team, and the presence of independents.
The international community is urging officials to elect a president, and France is leading a movement to expedite this in order to carry out urgent reforms, which is a major condition for Lebanon to obtain international financial support to get it out of its ongoing economic crisis since 2019.
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