MP Mark Daou announced the nomination of of former minister Jihad Azour as the opposition’s candidate for the presidency, saying: “We affirm respect for the sovereignty of the state and the adoption of all reforms, especially the independence of the judiciary and the accountability of those responsible for all the disasters that occurred.”
Dow pointed out that:
“we, as opposition forces, sensed the size of national responsibility, rejected the logic of confrontation , and chose, for the sake of the country, to break the cycle of vacuum that is destroying this country. We searched for an acceptable alternative from the parliamentary forces for a consensus candidate with the aim of restoring hope and salvation and we agreed to name Minister Jihad Azour ” as a consensus candidate. He is at equal distance from everyone, and has the ability to save Lebanon from the current collapse.
He added:
“We declare our readiness to vote for Azour on the basis of the priority of saving Lebanon and ending the vacuum, because Lebanon needs to be rescued, for the sake of all the Lebanese people not only the opposition and it is not the opposition
Daou stressed that “the time today is not to conclude political deals and evade responsibilities, as the bazaar has ended, and it is time to save the homeland, the state and the institutions.”
He continued by saying “We have full confidence that Azour’ has the 65 votes needed , so let a session be called and we will all go to the parliament .
He urged all parliamentary blocs to rally behind this initiative
He revealed that ” an overwhelming majority of the Change MPs support the nomination of Azour for the Lebanese presidency”
This development comes after 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.
MP Ghassan Atallah, a key member of FPM confirmed yesterday 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 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”
Berri , who has been accused by the opposition of hijacking the parliament claimed that France is “still clinging to ( Suleiman ) Franjieh’s nomination.”
Berri a key ally of the Iranian backed Hezbollah has been the speaker for more than 3 decades ,
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
During his Sunday mass , Maronite Patriarch, Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rai, welcomed “every step towards understanding and consensus over a president’s election,” as the opposition was preparing to announce the name of its presidential candidate.
He called for consensus on a president with the formula: “Neither victor nor vanquished”
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