Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader Walid Jumblatt has initiated the nomination of three new candidates for the presidency, headed by Army Commander Joseph Aoun. A source in the PSP parliamentary faction told Al-Akhbar on Thursday.
The list also includes Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund Jihad Azour, who served as finance minister from 2005 to 2008, and ex-MP Salah Hnein, the daily reported.
The PSP leader, who is a major political figure in the Druze community, had previously supported opposition presidential candidate Michel Moawad. However, after the Tuesday meeting with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, he announced that he was disappointed in Moawad, who "has no chance of winning the presidential race."
According to Jumblatt's plan, the candidates he proposes could be supported by factions within the pro-Syrian camp, as well as by deputies with a pro-Western orientation. Samir Geagea, head of the Christian party Lebanese Forces (LF), has already stated that he has no objection to Joseph Aoun's nomination as head of state. "If that option would speed up the solution of the problem and there is a consensus around the commander, we will support the initiative," the head of the LF said.
On January 19, deputies of the Lebanese parliament, voting for the 11th time, failed to elect the president of the republic. The top state post has been vacant since October 31, 2022, after General Michel Aoun left the Baabda presidential palace at the end of his six-year term.
The first round of elections for the new leader of the republic took place on September 29, and then deputies met for 10 more sessions, but the results of the vote did not reveal a winner. None of the candidates succeeded in garnering the support of 65 out of the 128 lawmakers needed to be elected. Berri said he would hold a new parliamentary session "only when there are candidates who can garner a large number of votes."
Shia position
According to preliminary polls, at least 60 deputies could vote for the army commander. According to Al-Akhbar, only the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader Gebran Bassil, the former head of the ruling parliamentary coalition, has so far openly opposed the candidacy.
The Amal and Hezbollah factions of the Shia parties, former FMP allies, have taken a wait-and-see approach. Earlier they named Al-Marada Christian Party Chairman Suleiman Frangieh, who is a member of the March 8 coalition's Syrian-oriented leadership, as their candidate.
Frangieh himself has not yet run in the election, having missed all 11 rounds of voting. As his spokesman, acting Minister of Information Ziad Makari, explained, this politician will run "only after he makes sure that he is supported by most factions."
According to Lebanon's confessional system, the post of prime minister is held by Sunni Muslims, the post of speaker of parliament by Shia Muslims, and the president of the republic is elected from the Maronite community to which most local Christians belong.
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Photo: Xevi V/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS