Jumblat Says Signal Received on Presidency...'God Save us'
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat said that Lebanon has probably received a signal from abroad as for the presidential elections, as he voiced fears of the future consequences.
“It seems that the signal has been received, God save us,” said Jumblat in a Tweet on Monday.
Jumblat's comments came in parallel with a telephone conversation that al-Mustaqbal Movement chief Saad Hariri has received on Sunday from Saudi Arabia while in Paris, media reports said.
Following the telephone call, Hariri traveled to Saudi Arabia on board his private airplane, added the reports.
An Nahar daily quoted well-informed sources who explained Jumblat's comments, they said: “Jumblat was informed that the signal includes a rejection of Hariri's presidential path (as for nominating MP Michel Aoun) by officials in Riyadh as well as a rejection of Hariri's premiership from the March 8 alliance prompting fears of possible repercussions which made him say 'God save us'.”
Free Patriotic Movement founder Aoun's chances to be elected president have largely surged in recent days and Education Minister Elias Bou Saab of the FPM announced Sunday that ex-PM Saad Hariri has officially decided to endorse Aoun's presidential bid.
Endorsing Aoun for Lebanon's top state post is not totally met with open arms by political factions or regional powers.
Speaker Nabih Berri, for example, has reiterated more than once that he will “never support” Aoun's nomination.
Media reports link Lebanon's presidential deadlock to regional issues mainly the war in Syria and the Saudi-Iranian ties.
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.
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