Jarrah: Saudi Arabia Does Not Interfere in Lebanon's Presidential Elections

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc member MP Jamal Jarrah stressed on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia will not interfere in Lebanon's presidential elections, as he assured that the comments made by Saudi chargé d'affaires in Lebanon Walid al-Bukhari on Twitter were simply to overview the history of late Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, thus dismissing any indication of Riyadh's support for a specific candidate.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not meddle in the presidential entitlement as it has always reiterated. The tweet of the Saudi charge d'affairs related to former Minister Jean Obeid was within an overview of the history of late Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Saud al-Faisal,” said Jarrah in an interview to VDL (93.3).

Bukhari took to Twitter on Monday and quoted late Faisal as saying: “Lebanon's foreign minister Jean Obeid is the wise man of the Arab foreign ministers.”

Jarrah added: “Ex-PM Saad Hariri and some parties are carrying on interior and foreign communications and consultations to reach a political settlement and elect new president.”

The MP hoped that power vacuum would end at the upcoming parliamentary session on 31 October 2016, noting that Hariri would carry on his efforts to reach a positive outcome soon.

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.

Ex-PM Saad 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.

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.