Hizbullah Says March 14 'Provocative' Candidate a Recipe for Presidential Vacuum
Hizbullah on Sunday stressed that the country's new president must be “in harmony with the resistance,” accusing the March 14 camp of seeking presidential vacuum through fielding a “provocative” candidate.
“We insist on and cling to a president who would be entrusted with the national principles, interests and achievements, contrary to the March 14 camp, which is awaiting a chance to turn against the domestic political equations,” deputy head of Hizbullah's executive council Sheikh Nabil Qaouq said at a memorial service in the southern town of Kafra.
“March 14's insistence on a provocative candidate is a presidential vacuum decision,” Qaouq added.
He said the rival camp has concerns that withdrawing support for its nominee, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, could lead to the collapse of the political coalition.
“Should they pull out their provocative candidate, they would be opening the door for an agreement over a president who would be entrusted with the national principles,” Qaouq went on to say.
He described the presidential election as a “historic national responsibility,” calling for choosing a “strong president.”
“This stance is not subject to bargaining and it is not aimed at provocation or at seeking offers,” Qaouq underlined.
Meanwhile, MP Nawwaf al-Moussawi of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc noted that any presidential candidate must be able to “unify the Lebanese.”
He pointed out that Geagea's “mere nomination is a reason for their division and for undermining national unity.”
“Any presidential candidate must mention in his presidential program a plan to liberate the Lebanese territories that are still under occupation,” Moussawi said.
They must also explain their plan to “preserve Lebanon's natural resources” and their strategy to “defend Lebanon in the face of Israeli aggression and threats,” the lawmaker added.
Accordingly, Moussawi emphasized that “it is normal for any presidential nominee to be in harmony with the resistance, without which it would have been impossible to liberate the land and the people.”
The ongoing disagreement between the March 8 and 14 camps is raising fears that they will fail to elect a president before May 25, resulting in a vacuum in the country's top post.
The 128-member parliament held a presidential election session on April 23, but neither Geagea nor Democratic Gathering MP Henri Helou garnered the necessary 86 votes to emerge victorious.
Two other sessions were supposed to be held, but they failed over lack of quorum after a March 8 camp boycott over the ongoing disagreement over a candidate.
The fourth session is scheduled for May 15.
Y.R.
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