Mustaqbal Lauds Bkirki Stance, Urges Election of President without 'Preconditions'

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Thursday hailed the latest stance of the Council of Maronite Bishops regarding the presidency and the Constitution, calling for the election of a president “without any preconditions.”

“The bloc welcomed the call that was issued by the Council of Maronite Bishops yesterday, especially as to the need to abide by the Constitution and its stipulations, and the importance of electing a president who can unite the Lebanese and achieve national reconciliation,” said the bloc in a statement issued after a Center House meeting chaired by ex-PM Saad Hariri.

“The presidential post has been vacant for around two and a half years now due to the wrongful, obstructive stance of Hizbullah and its allies, which it is imposing on the Lebanese in a manner that contradicts with the Constitution's stipulations and the Lebanese democratic parliamentary system,” Mustaqbal added.

It also reiterated that “the return to respecting the Constitution is the main and only way to activate the work of state institutions, starting by the election of a president without any preconditions or restrictions.”

In a statement that was issued after a Bkirki meeting on Wednesday, the Council of Maronite Bishops stressed that “no preconditions should be imposed on the president” and endorsed an earlier statement by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, who warned that any candidate who accepts a so-called “package deal” would be lacking “dignity.”

Speaker Nabih Berri has recently called for a package deal involving agreements on the electoral law and the next government, warning that “we would be crucifying any elected president” without an agreement on such a package deal, “especially regarding the electoral law.”

Hariri's recent return 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 Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel 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.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.