Houri: Hizbullah Controls Presidency File, Aoun Tried to Polish His Image with Mustaqbal

Al-Mustaqbal MP Ammar Houri said on Wednesday that MP Michel Aoun tried to polish up his image with al-Mustaqbal Movement, as he emphasized that a solution for the presidential file is in the hands of Hizbullah.

“Freeing the presidency file is in the hands of Hizbullah which does not want any candidate for the presidency, not even General (Michel) Aoun,” said Houri in an interview to VDL (100.5).

“Until this moment (al-Mustaqbal Movement chief) ex-PM Saad Hariri is still in a stage of consultations. He has not changed his old position as for the nomination of Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh. But at the same time he is open to all options,” added Houri.

“We are in a transitory period and await for Hariri to finish his consultations inside Lebanon and abroad,” he added.

On the statements made by Aoun in a televised interview on Tuesday, Houri said: “General Aoun tried to polish up his image with Mustaqbal. His stances were brushed which is normal for any (presidential) candidate wishing to market himself.”

Aoun hailed on Tuesday his latest meeting with Hariri as “very positive.”

Hariri's return recently to Lebanon has triggered a flurry of rumors and media reports about a possible presidential settlement and the possibility that the former premier has finally decided to endorse Aoun for the presidency in a bid to break the deadlock.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

Hariri's move prompted Geagea to endorse the nomination of Aoun, his long-time Christian rival, after months of political rapprochement talks between their two parties.