BEIRUT: The influential Maronite Catholic Church has apparently given its blessing to the election of Michel Aoun as president as his rival, Sleiman Frangieh, vowed Monday to stay in the presidential race with hopes of winning the country’s top Christian post.
A day after meeting with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah to thank him for his support, Aoun met Monday night with Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai to brief him on latest developments in the presidential deadlock ahead of a Parliament session to elect a president on Oct. 31.
“Patriarch Rai expressed his satisfaction with what he had constantly demanded: The declaration of political and parliamentary blocs their stances on nomination,” according to a terse statement issued after the meeting. “This matter now guarantees the convening of the scheduled electoral session and the election of a president for the country the people have been waiting for impatiently.”
Rai, who has frequently decried the presidential vacuum, now in its third year, has been urging for more than two years rival political leaders and parliamentary blocs to end the vacuum by electing a new head of state to succeed former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year tenure ended in May 2014.
The statement issued in Bkirki, the Maronite patriarch’s seat, appeared to entail Rai’s implicit blessing for the election of Aoun as president, especially after the founder of the Free Patriotic Movement has so far gained the support of the Future Movement, the Lebanese Forces, Hezbollah and some of its March 8 allies, thus ensuring him a sufficient parliamentary majority for his election. However, Frangieh, a key figure in the Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition, said he would not drop out of the presidential race in favor of Aoun despite former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s support for the FPM founder.
Asked if he stood any chance of winning the presidency in view of backing for Aoun from the country’s leading Christian and Muslim parties, Frangieh said in an interview with LBCI channel Monday night: “I am determined to fight the [presidential] battle, relying on the conscience of the Lebanese people.”
“I am satisfied. I will go to the Parliament session. The presidential election will take place. I will tolerate the defeat if I lose. I am taking into account the possibility of defeat and victory,” the Marada Movement leader said.
Frangieh, who was backed last year by Hariri for the presidency as part of an internationally backed initiative to end the power vacuum, acknowledged that Aoun has the largest representation within the Christian community.
“I have no problem if Gen. Aoun is elected as president,” he said, adding that the Lebanese should not rule out an “election surprise” during the Parliament session.
Frangieh recalled a series of accusations made against him by the FPM officials because of his agreement with Hariri.
In a change of heart after Frangieh’s nomination failed to break the presidential deadlock, Hariri last week announced his endorsement of Aoun for the presidency, hoping the decision would protect Lebanon and put an end to the stalemate.
Frangieh said Hariri came under “heavy pressure” to back Aoun. “Hariri embarked on [presidential] initiatives which were very dangerous for his community,” he said, implying that the Sunni sect did not support either Frangieh or Aoun for the presidency.
Despite Hezbollah’s support for Aoun, Frangieh said he has full confidence in Nasrallah. “If you open Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s heart, you will find Sleiman Frangieh there,” he said.
Frangieh said if he or Aoun won the presidential vote, this would be a victory for the March 8 coalition’s project.
Aoun met Nasrallah to thank him for helping facilitate a solution.
“We came here tonight [Sunday night] to thank Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah for helping us in resolving the intractable presidential election problem,” the FPM founder said after meeting Nasrallah at the latter’s office south of Beirut Sunday night, according to a statement issued by Hezbollah’s press office Monday.
Aoun said Nasrallah has provided “all facilities to solve this [presidential] problem.”
“Thank God, we have reached a happy ending and we hope matters [related to the presidential vote] will be sorted out. We have always found assistance and forgiveness [from Hezbollah] in national issues,” he added.
Aoun’s meeting with Nasrallah was also attended by FPM leader and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, and Hussein Khalil, a top aide to the Hezbollah chief, and Wafik Safa, the group’s security official.
“The meeting discussed latest political developments in Lebanon and the region, in particular the presidential election and the necessity to pursue efforts to ensure its success in the best possible positive atmosphere,” the statement said.
The meeting came hours after Nasrallah announced that all 13 members of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc would attend the Parliament session to vote for Aoun.
In a televised speech Sunday, Nasrallah said Hezbollah did not oppose Hariri’s return to the premiership as part of the deal between the Future Movement and the FPM to end the presidential vacuum. He also disclosed that his party has embarked on efforts to overcome opposition from its March 8 allies to the election of Aoun as president and ensure a smooth and successful vote at the Parliament session.
Nasrallah was clearly referring to Speaker Nabih Berri, who strongly opposes Aoun’s election to the presidency. Berri has declared that he and his 13-member parliamentary bloc – part of the March 8 alliance – would not vote for Aoun, although he said he would not attempt to block his election by boycotting the session. In addition to Berri’s opposition, Hezbollah has to grapple with a similar opposition from Frangieh.
A number of FPM lawmakers praised Nasrallah’s speech, which dispelled fears and doubts voiced by some March 14 politicians that Hezbollah did not want Aoun to be elected president.
“All indications and Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah’s speech point to the election of Gen. Michel Aoun as president at the Parliament session on Oct. 31,” FPM MP Amal Abu Zeid told the Voice of Lebanon radio station (93.3). He said he is confident that Aoun would be elected as president with a high number of MPs’ votes.
For his part, Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb urged lawmakers who oppose Aoun’s presidential bid to vote for his rival, Frangieh, or cast blank ballots. A harsh critic of Aoun, Harb said he was seeking to coordinate stances among MPs who oppose the election of the FPM founder.