Democratic Gathering Warns against Lebanon's Slide to 'Totalitarianism'
Democratic Gathering bloc MP Marwan Hamadeh has rejected to turn Lebanon into a dictatorship through the appointment of a president rather than his election.
Hamadeh told the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah on Wednesday that “Lebanon, which has been a slogan for democracy in the Orient, should not slide into totalitarianism where a president is appointed without elections.”
“We will congratulate the president whoever he is if he was elected. But the presidency is not picked up,” the lawmaker said in reference to remarks that Hizbullah official Hussein Khalil has made.
A president only comes through “voting via democratic institutions,” he said.
The Democratic Gathering accuses Hizbullah, backed by Iran, for thwarting the presidential elections.
Baabda Palace has been vacant since May 2014 when the term of President Michel Suleiman ended.
Lack of quorum caused by the boycott of Hizbullah, the Change and Reform bloc and other MPs has stopped parliament from electing a head of state.
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