Hariri Says Won't 'Secure Votes' for Aoun, Optimistic on Election of President on March 23
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri stressed Thursday that he will not seek to “secure votes” for the election of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun as president, as he expressed optimism on the election of a president in the next two sessions.
“Let no one ask me to secure votes for the election of Michel Aoun as president, despite my appreciation of him, and if he can secure the votes I will head to parliament tomorrow,” said Hariri in an interview with LBCI television.
“Despite the reconciliation between Aoun and (Lebanese Forces leader Samir) Geagea , I'm committed to (Marada Movement chief MP) Suleiman Franjieh's nomination. Should Aoun secure enough votes, I will go to parliament and congratulate him,” Hariri said.
“I spoke with General Aoun but he was not accepted by my allies. I then discussed Franjieh's nomination with them and they did not show much opposition. My concern is putting an end to vacuum, because it is a disaster for Lebanon,” the ex-PM added.
Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and the FPM, Hizbullah and some of their allies have been boycotting the electoral sessions.
Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his suggestion was rejected by the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.
The Hizbullah-led March 8 camp, as well as March 14's Lebanese Forces, have argued that Aoun is more eligible than Franjieh to become president given the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.
“I have made a presidential initiative due to the ongoing crises at level of decision-making in all state institutions,” Hariri told LBCI.
He warned that vacuum in Lebanon “led to the May 7 (2008) clashes” and “vacuum only leads to problems and difficulties.”
Hariri noted that his nomination of Franjieh “aims to extend the hand to the other camp.”
“With all due respect to (Hizbullah chief) Sayyed (Hassan) Nasrallah, we have our presence in this country and we have nominated a figure who belongs to his camp but we cannot execute Hizbullah's instructions,” the former premier added.
“We must not lose hope in the presidential issue and today there are real candidates whom we can elect,” Hariri went on to say, noting that he is “reassured that a president will be elected in the next session or in the session that would follow.”
The ex-PM also revealed that he told FPM chief Jebran Bassil during their meeting last week that he is “committed to Franjieh's nomination.”
Turning to the tensions between Hizbullah and Saudi Arabia, Hariri underlined that “it is a terrorist act when Hizbullah goes to Yemen, Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia and when it jeopardizes Saudi security and Gulf security.”
“When Hizbullah fights to defend Lebanon it is an act of resistance, but what is it doing in Syria, Iraq and Yemen? Where is the interest of the Lebanese in all of what's happening?” he wondered.
“I tell Sayyed Nasrallah that I have returned to Lebanon and I call on him to return to Lebanon as well. He must take Lebanon's interests into consideration before the interest of any other country. Lebanon needs a president and stability,” Hariri went on to say.
“We support Hizbullah when it fights Israeli occupation but we are against any military act outside Lebanon,” he emphasized.
Y.R.
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10 March 2016, 23:04
Hariri: We support Hizbullah when it fights Israeli occupation but we are against any military act outside Lebanon.
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10 March 2016, 23:03
Hariri: Hizbullah cannot do what it is doing in the Gulf and then claim that the GCC measures harm national unity. What Hizbullah is doing is wrong and it must return to Lebanon. When Hizullah went to Syria, Yemen and Kuwait, did it think of national unity?
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10 March 2016, 22:58
Hariri: Saudi Arabia is not against dialogue with Hizbullah and it is talking with the Huthis over a political solution in Yemen.
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10 March 2016, 22:52
Hariri: I'm reassured that a president will be elected in the next session or in the session that would follow and I'm not pessimistic. I told Bassil during our meeting last week that I'm committed to Franjieh's nomination.
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10 March 2016, 22:50
Hariri: Hizbullah and March 8 are betting on the situation in Syria and we made similar bets on the past but I call on them to bet together on Lebanon.
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10 March 2016, 22:46
Hariri: I tell Sayyed Nasrallah that I have returned to Lebanon and I call on him to return to Lebanon as well. He must take Lebanon's interests into consideration before the interest of any other country. Lebanon needs a president and stability.
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10 March 2016, 22:40
Hariri: When Hizbullah fights to defend Lebanon it is an act of resistance, but what is it doing in Syria, Iraq and Yemen? Where is the interest of the Lebanese in all of what's happening?
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10 March 2016, 22:39
Hariri: It is a terrorist act when Hizbullah goes to Yemen, Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia and when it jeopardizes Saudi security and Gulf security.
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10 March 2016, 22:35
Hariri: My disagreement with Geagea is limited to the presidential issue and a lot of things gather us and nothing separates me from my allies except death.
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10 March 2016, 22:32
Hariri: Let no one ask me to secure votes for the election of Michel Aoun as president, despite my appreciation of him, and if he can secure the votes I will head to parliament tomorrow.
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10 March 2016, 22:26
Hariri: I'm not seeking to return to the premiership but rather to rescue the country and end the presidential vacuum.
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10 March 2016, 22:25
Hariri: Hizbullah is saying that it has a constitutional right to boycott electoral sessions but did it have a constitutional right to send militants to Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait? Those who want to respect the Constitution must respect it to the fullest.
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10 March 2016, 22:20
Hariri: We must not lose hope in the presidential issue and today there are real candidates whom we can elect.
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10 March 2016, 22:00
Hariri: Despite the Aoun-Geagea reconciliation, I'm committed to Suleiman Franjieh's nomination. Should Aoun secure enough votes, I will go to parliament and congratulate him.
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10 March 2016, 21:56
Hariri: With all due respect to Sayyed Nasrallah, we have our presence in this country and we have nominated a figure who belongs to his camp but we cannot execute Hizbullah's instructions.
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10 March 2016, 21:54
Hariri: Part of my initiative on nominating MP Franjieh aims to extend the hand to the other camp and let the other camp propose what it wants.
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10 March 2016, 21:51
Hariri: Vacuum in Lebanon led to the May 7 clashes and vacuum only leads to problems and difficulties.
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10 March 2016, 21:44
Hariri: I spoke with General Aoun but he was not accepted by my allies. I then discussed Franjieh's nomination with them and they did not show much opposition. My concern is putting an end to vacuum, because it is a disaster for Lebanon.
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10 March 2016, 21:42
Hariri: It is my duty to help in finding solutions to the garbage crisis because this issue concerns all Lebanese and we the garbage will be removed from the streets in the coming days.
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10 March 2016, 21:38
Hariri: I have made a presidential initiative due to the ongoing crises at level of decision-making in all state institutions.
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10 March 2016, 21:36
Hariri: Lebanon is facing economic risks and all sectors are paralyzed.
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10 March 2016, 21:35
Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri to LBCI: The security concerns that pushed me to leave Lebanon have not changed but nowadays the country itself is in danger and no one is bigger than his country.
10 March 2016, 22:37
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say what you wanna, the dude has a valid point, not his biggest fan, but he does have a valid point, Hariri: Hizbullah is saying that it has a constitutional right to boycott electoral sessions but did it have a constitutional right to send militants to Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq and Kuwait? Those who want to respect the Constitution must respect it to the fullest. :
11 March 2016, 01:10
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Hariri is showing some teeth. That's good, but I hope he continues pounding on Hezbollah, and not back off after the election.
Long term, we don't need Hezbollah because they support an artificial resistance. We are not at war with Israel. They don't want anything from us.
12 March 2016, 11:48
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Exactly!!! Hezbollah has been using Israel as a boogeyman to validate their fictitious "resistance." That excuse might have worked before, but the Lebanese are no longer naiive to the fact that Hezbollah is not a resistance they are a militia. They do not represent me or anyone I know.
11 March 2016, 06:46
35
OK, but this time if Israel fights Hezb we must not give them cover, rather squeeze them from both sides.
11 March 2016, 14:15
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Harriri has a very good valid points. He rallied the Saudis to provide millions or billions of dollars to the army..his dad invested in the Lebanese economy to restore construction in downtown Beirut..
