Yazbek Says Some Parties Have Returned to 'Justifications of Paralysis, Ambiguity'

Senior Hizbullah official Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek lamented Friday that some parties have returned to what he called “the justifications of paralysis” and “ambiguity” regarding the stalled presidential vote.

“We have returned to the justifications of paralysis and ambiguity shrouded in ambiguity regarding our painful political situation. Advices are not being accepted and calls for dialogue, understanding are not being heeded,” Yazbek, the head of Hizbullah's so-called Juristic Council, said.

“As if these people are not sensing the dangers and the scary economic and social situations that are awaiting Lebanon,” the Hizbullah official decried, warning that “there can be no cure through evading responsibility.”

On Thursday, al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc noted that the latest stances of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah have “once again” confirmed that Hizbullah and its regional backer Iran are “obstructing” the presidential election in Lebanon.

Nasrallah had announced Tuesday that the FPM and al-Mustaqbal have reached “agreements” regarding the presidential election, calling for involving Speaker Nabih Berri and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh in the understandings.

Reiterating Hizbullah's support for Aoun's nomination, Nasrallah said “Hizbullah's choice has always been clear.” “We are the people of honesty, loyalty and commitment to our stances. This is how we've always been and this is how we'll always remain,” he added.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri's recent return to Lebanon has triggered a flurry of reports about a possible presidential settlement and it has become known that the ex-PM is exploring the possibility of endorsing FPM founder MP Michel Aoun for the presidency in a bid to break the deadlock.

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.