Home  News Postponement of Lebanese election draws mixed response from leaders |
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Postponement of Lebanese election draws mixed response from leaders |
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Written by Daily Star
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While some see the postponement of the electoral session as putting off tackling of a problem for a month, others feel new opportunities for dialogue and debate emerged that will help bridge the gap between rival political camps and help move the country toward consensus and a new president acceptable to all sides.
Parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri said that a president for all of Lebanon and the Lebanese will be found through dialogue with the opposition, adding that dialogue will ease the tension in the country. He warned that it is in no one's interests for Lebanon to be without a president as everyone will be in a precarious position if a vacuum emerges.
Hariri, in an interview with the American Fox television network, said Lebanon is built on accord among all its people and the country cannot be ruled by one group or one sect alone. "We aim to reach a consensus and believe that through dialogue with the opposition the situation will calm down," Hariri added.
He said that political assassinations in Lebanon aim to create chaos in the short term and aid the return of tutelage over Lebanon in the long term. "[The Syrian regime] thinks it can hinder our ability to continue our fight for the Cedar Revolution. March 14 [2005] was an historic day for Lebanon, they want to erase that from the memory of the Lebanese, this is one thing the Syrian regime will not be able to do," Hariri said.
The son of slain former Premier Rafik Hariri called on the international community to get rid of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime. "We deal with a regime that killed six MPs over two years, is condemnation alone enough?" he asked. "This regime has to be isolated and made to understand that there are consequences if its does not stop its meddling in other countries. The solution is not just getting rid of Saddam Hussein's regime, but Bashar's as well."
Asked about the optimism both he and the opposition have shown recently despite the wide gap between the two sides, Hariri said: "I do not say we are close but I believe the more time passes and the closer we get to the [constitutional grace] periods, the more people and political factions will realize that creating a vacuum at the presidential level kills Lebanon. I hope through our discussions with the opposition that we can reach a consensus."
Following the abortive parliamentary session Tuesday, Change and Reform Bloc leader MP Michel Aoun issued what he dubbed "a national salvation initiative" calling on the leaders of all parliamentary blocs to meet and sit around a table to agree on various issues.
Aoun said he could take a decision without consulting or referring to friends or allies. "Whoever has the ability to do that is welcome to sit with us," he said, calling on all political factions to "sit around any table, a round table, in a television studio if they like, to have a calm debate."
Aoun added that no one side could solve the problem alone, adding that the meeting is not to support his candidacy to the presidency, but rather for both sides to be honest with one another and help one another resolve the crisis. "No one can solve the problem on their own, neither Hariri can solve the problem alone, nor can I do it alone," he said.
Aoun sent a clear message to the majority, warning that electing a president through a simple majority, on half plus one of MPs, would be "a declaration of war." He said the legal quorum required for an electoral session to convene cannot be tampered with. "Countries that support such a president should send their armies to protect him," Aoun warned.
Speaking to the Central News Agency, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea expressed disappointment Tuesday at Speaker Nabih Berri for adjourning the Parliament session due to a lack of a two-thirds quorum, adding that Berri alone cannot decide on the matter of the quorum.
"If he has an opinion different from ours he should have come down to the session and the general assembly decides in the end what the quorum is," he added, adding that Berri's position on the quorum is in no way binding.
He said no serious attempts were made for all MPs to enter the general assembly hall as most MPs stayed in the outer reception area. "I find Berri's invitation was not a serious one," Geagea said. "If Speaker Berri wanted a little time so that we could arrive at a consensus over a president then why did he convene a session today?" he asked.
"If we cannot reach an agreement over a president from now until the October 23 parliamentary session, [that] session has to be convened and who ever wins wins and whoever loses loses, but it is unacceptable for what happened Tuesday to happen in October," Geagea said
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir on Tuesday discussed with visitors his Monday meeting with Berri and presidential elections. Sfeir met former Minister Wadih al Khazen, who told reporters after the meeting that the patriarch was confident and content of the way matters are moving following Berri's visit to Bkirki.
"We can say there is a mood of optimism which can produce an election of a new president," Khazen said, adding that all political factions know the dangers of the current situation and will all work as quickly as possible to agree on a name of a president acceptable to all and thus end the crisis.
Khazen added that Sfeir reiterated the characteristics the prelate had earlier described to the speaker as requisite for presidential candidates. "The speaker also wants these characteristics, now everyone is working to arrive at a candidate who meets these characteristics."
Sfeir also met Tuesday with UN special coordinator for Lebanon Geir Pedersen.
A meeting between delegations from Hizbullah's Politburo and the Jamaa Islamia Politburo met Tuesday to exchange views on the latest political developments, especially the presidential elections, issuing a statement after their meeting. Both delegations stressed in their statement the need to arrive at a consensus over the next president in accordance with constitutional norms as a means to solving the current crisis.
The participants called on all political factions to cooperate with holding presidential elections and to let a spirit of national responsibility prevail. The statement went on to add that moving forward with the election thwarts foreign intervention or tutelage.
By Hani M. Bathish
Daily Star staff
http://dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=85594
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