Report: Hariri Reassured about Outcome of Endorsing Aoun
Al-Mustaqbal Movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri is reassured about the outcome of his initiative as for nominating MP Michel Aoun for the post of president, and said its unlikely for the election session scheduled at the end of October to be postponed, An Nahar daily reported on Friday.
In side talks with the daily, Hariri said “I am reassured,” about the results of the initiative, and that he does not expect the election session on 31 of October to be postponed “unless they wanted to,” he said. He was referring to reports circulating that the session might be delayed until the tense relations between Speaker Nabih Berri and Aoun are settled, according to the daily.
On Thursday, Hariri has formally endorsed the presidential nomination of Free Patriotic Movement founder Michel Aoun, describing his decision as a “major political risk” that he is willing to take for the sake of the country.
On the tense relations between Berri and himself, Hariri pointed to a strong friendship with the Speaker “the huff will not continue, because there is no room for that in politics.”
On his relations with Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh and a previous nominee of his for head of the state post, Hariri said: “the only (real) ally that Franjieh has is Saad Hariri because his allies did not give him anything.”
On the circumstances that made Hariri choose to endorse Aoun, Hariri said that after exhausting all other options he told the parties concerned since last August that he cannot continue with the presidential vacuum.
Hariri had endorsed Aoun after his previous support for the presidential nomination of Franjieh was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.
Berri has openly announced that he will not vote for Aoun in any presidential election session and some officials of his 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.
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 Hizbullah's ally 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.
Source: Naharnet
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