Former PM Fouad Siniora called on the Lebanese to vote in record numbers for a “strong state” and against “gun silencers and explosives,” in a possible reference to the Iranian backed Hezbollah, on the eve of May 15 parliamentary elections.
“We are building and they are destroying and sabotaging. We are the ones who want Lebanon to be Arab, sovereign and independent in words and deeds,” Siniora during a press conference.
“To topple the statelet and get rid of the hegemony of illegal arms over the country and military, security, judicial, legislative and executive institutions and over their decisions and directions, we call on you to to vote in record numbers in these elections, and to vote for a strong state governed by the constitution and laws, not by the barrels of rifles, silencers and explosives,” the former premier added.
He is backing one of the main electoral lists in Beirut’s second district and several candidates in a number of regions, despite a decision by the Future Movement not to participate in the elections.
Stressing that “Hezbollah’s project contradicts with political and national realism and with the law of nature,” Siniora addressed Lebanese and Arab Shiites as “our people.”
“You are our Shiites and our people,” he said.
“We engaged in joint struggles to achieve the rise of Lebanon, a country for all its sons without discrimination. We stood together and defended Lebanon’s independence, sovereignty and Arabism for long decades. We confronted and together withstood the Israeli occupation and together we fought the Israeli tanks across Lebanon,” Siniora added.
Similarly , Lebanon’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian compared on Thursday a boycott of the upcoming parliamentary elections to “surrender”.
“We do not want to hand Lebanon over to the enemies of Arabism,” he declared during a meeting with ambassadors of the Gulf Cooperation Council to Beirut, a possible reference to the Iranian backed Hezbollah militia which has been interfering in the internal affairs of several Arab nations .
Sunday’s elections are a significant chapter in Lebanon’s history, he declared.
“We have urged the people to take part, not to boycott the polls,” he stated, adding that no official has called for a boycott.
Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced earlier this year his intent to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections and his decision to step away from the domestic political scene for the time being.
Hariri called on members of his Future Movement political party to follow suit and suspend their participation in politics.
Hariri should pay for his mistakes not the Sunni community
Hariri, who once enjoyed strong ties with the West and the Gulf, saw his image tarnished in recent years after making multiple concessions to Hezbollah and its allies Amal and the free patriotic Movement .
According to analysts it was ” Hariri that made the concessions and he should be the one paying for his mistakes and not the Sunni community . Boycotting the elections by the Sunnis as Hariri stipulated is a very dangerous act the analysts say and will result in handing over all the Sunni rights on a silver platter to the Iranian backed Hezbollah militia . If things are bad now imagine how will they be in the future if Hezbollah takes over all the Sunni seats ” , the analysts said adding : “Farsi could then become the official language of Lebanon and not Arabic”
“The Sunni community leaders should insist that their constituents should exercise their right to vote”. The analyst added and ” should forget about Hariri . If Hariri lost his bet it doesn’t mean that the Sunnis should be all losers . Eventually Hariri will realize that he made a grave mistake in telling his followers to abstain from voting .
“The Sunnis should listen to their Mufti who has their interest at heart” , the analyst added and went on to say: “Hariri is a billionaire , can afford to live anywhere he desires , but we can’t even afford to buy bread for our children. This is our country and we have to take charge of our lives “
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