Hizbullah, Mustaqbal Urge 'Communication' to Reach 'Unifying Agreements'

Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal Movement on Thursday called for “communication” to achieve “unifying national agreements,” only hours after al-Mustaqbal leader ex-PM Saad Hariri formally declared his endorsement of Hizbullah's ally MP Michel Aoun for the presidency.

“The conferees discussed the political developments and stressed their great keenness on the continuation of communication among all parties in order to achieve unifying national agreements,” the two parties said in a terse joint statement issued after their 35th dialogue session in Ain el-Tineh.

Earlier in the day, Hariri described his decision to endorse Aoun as a “major political risk” that he is willing to take for the sake of the country.

He noted that Aoun will be “a president for all Lebanese and a guardian of their sovereignty, freedom, independence, and the choices that unite them, not the choices of discord.”

“He will be keen, like us, on showing openness towards all political forces,” Hariri reassured.

Hizbullah's other ally Speaker Nabih Berri is opposed to Aoun's nomination and has openly announced that his bloc will not vote for Aoun in any electoral session.

Some officials of Berri's AMAL Movement have accused Aoun and Hariri of seeking a bilateral agreement that would marginalize Shiites in power, allegations that Aoun and his movement have denied.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has recently called for involving Berri and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh in the “Hariri-Aoun agreements.”

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 had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate 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 have argued 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.