BEIRUT: There will be no parliamentary vote in Lebanon before a new president is elected, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri declared Wednesday, in a move that all but guarantees the extension of Parliament’s mandate.
“A lot will be said about an alleged deal to extend Parliament’s tenure,” Hariri, the Future Movement’s leader, said on Twitter. “There is no deal. We simply won’t participate in parliamentary elections unless a president is elected for the Republic.”
“Let them allow an end to the vacancy in the presidency and we will be ready for every other election,” he added, in a reference to Hezbollah and its allies. “Otherwise it would be betting on the unknown and maybe falling into total vacuum,” the former premier tweeted.
A solution that would allow Lebanon to hold parliamentary elections on time had appeared as elusive as ever despite public opposition to extending the chamber’s mandate by the country’s top politicians, before Hariri’s announcement confirmed the breakdown of talks.
Political deadlock appeared almost inevitable as the impasse over the election of a new president relentlessly continued and no compromise was reached to allow Parliament to vote on a raft of urgent legislation.
The Future Movement and Speaker Nabih Berri dispelled any notions of an agreement that would allow for the extension of Parliament’s mandate in exchange for holding legislative sessions.
The March 14 bloc has been boycotting legislative sessions at Parliament, saying a new president must be elected before voting on new bills.
The presidency has been empty since former President Michel Sleiman’s term ended in May, and initiatives on both sides of the political aisle have been repeatedly stymied over the absence of a consensus candidate.
MPs who visited the speaker at his Ain al-Tineh residence Wednesday quoted him as saying his “stands on all matters are always clear and explicit,” and stressed that his position opposing the parliamentary extension “is not open to negotiation or compromise.”
Legislators have argued that Parliament could address a raft of urgent matters that have paralyzed the country’s finances and economy, including a long-simmering bill outlining a new salary scale for public employees, the government’s extra-budgetary spending and allowing the government to sell Eurobonds to raise money for public financing.
Berri confirmed in his meetings with March 14 representatives that he considered the wage hike the first priority for action.
The Future Movement confirmed the stance after its weekly meeting with a statement that stressed the need to elect a president before the parliamentary vote.
The party said it had submitted its candidacies to the elections with the understanding that the presidential vote would take place first.
The Future Movement said the delays in electing a president would likely lead to a constitutional deadlock and a worsening security situation in the country.
The back-and-forth between the Future Movement and the speaker coincided with a high-profile visit between former rivals and current allies Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.
Jumblatt said that he agreed with Aoun’s logic regarding running for the presidency, but the Progressive Socialist Party leader stressed that their meeting did not include talks on the topic.“I am convinced with Aoun’s rationale behind his presidential candidacy, but we haven’t spoken about the issue in today’s meeting,” he said after meeting with the FPM leader. “There was an agreement on the majority of points,” he added, “the coordination between us will continue.”
Aoun also confirmed that the meeting excluded talks about the presidency but said a common view was shared on most other matters of discussion.
Jumblatt agreed with the view on the international coalition against ISIS that the FPM leader expressed in a televised interview Tuesday night.
Aoun had said he did not believe in a coalition that excluded countries, including Syria, that were suffering from terrorism.
The relationship between Aoun and Jumblatt has been mostly fraught since the former’s return from exile in 2005. But since Jumblatt’s announcement of taking a “centrist” line between March 14 and March 8, relations between the two leaders have improved. A month before Wednesday’s visit to Jumblatt, Aoun received the Druze leader for a meeting at his residence in Rabieh.
Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Sep-18/271076-hariri-rules-out-parliament-polls-before-president-elected.ashx#ixzz3Ddr9NZ8V
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)