Speaker Nabih Berri said in an interview with Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that he will “immediately” call for a presidential election session once Jihad Azour’s nomination becomes “serious.”
“The nomination of ex-minister Jihad Azour is still a maneuvering tactic and once his nomination becomes serious I will immediately call for a session,” Berri said in an interview with Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
According to media reports, the opposition and the Free Patriotic Movement are expected to officially announce Azour’s nomination on Saturday.
MP Ghassan Atallah, a key member of FPM confirmed that “the former minister, Jihad Azour, is a serious candidate, not a maneuvering candidate.”
Atallah added, in an interview with “Voice of Lebanon”, “We have a unified candidate, and if the speaker will call for a presidential election session , we will go and vote for Jihad Azour.”
He added “The election of a president is a Christian entitlement, and Christians must have the first decision, and we will try to reach an understanding with others so that our candidate will not be a confrontational president.”
He pointed out that, “The head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, was offered many high state positions by the Shiite duo in exchange for voting for Franjieh, but we rejected this matter .
Atallah pointed out that, “Hezbollah’s principle of domination is manifested in imposing a president on Christians.”
He added that the Democratic Gathering bloc which is headed by Taymour Jumblatt is currently meeting and is expected to endorse Azour’s nomination .
Berri , who has been accused by the opposition of hijacking the parliament claimed that France is “still clinging to Franjieh’s nomination.”
Berri a key ally of the Iranian backed Hezbollah has been the speaker for more than 3 decades ,
Following his return to Lebanon the Marada Movement Suleiman Franjieh met last April with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to report to him on his trip .
The problem for Franjieh is twofold: Until now he doesn’t have a majority in parliament that would allow him to win an election, and he is opposed by the three main Maronite Christian parties, which would deny him any communal legitimacy, since presidents come from the Maronite community.
According to political observers, even in the unlikely event that he could be voted into office, his term would be highly contentious because of hostility from within his community.
According to Lebanese TV station LBCI if Speaker Berri calls for a session, and if a quorum is achieved Azour has a much better chance of being elected than Franjieh . LBC projected that Franjieh could secure about 45 votes , while Azour could secure 68 votes out of the 128 member parliament
LBC projection is based on the. assumption that 19 Lebanese Forces MPs, 17 Free Patriotic Movement MPs, 4 Tajaddod and 4 Kataeb MPs, 8 MPs from the Democratic Gathering bloc and two from the Tashnag would vote for Azour, in addition to 6 independent and 8 change MPs.
According to media reports the opposition forces are studying the idea of announcing Azour’s candidacy from the house of MP Michel Moawad, after they failed to get him to the presidency.
Unfortunately most of the news about the presidential election in Lebanon is either wishful thinking or speculation which is making it very difficult for Ya Libnan and other respectable news organization to report on the matter.
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