Franjieh prepares to announce his candidacy while his opponents mobilize to boycott
Lebanese sources reported that the leader of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Frangieh, who announced his support for the Shiite duo of Hezbollah and Amal, to run for the presidency of Lebanon, is already preparing to announce his candidacy, while his opponents are already mobilizing to boycott the session of the election or push for the blocking of the quorum.
Franjieh’s delay in officially announcing his candidacy for the presidency, after the Shiite duo announced their support, is further ambiguous in Lebanon’s already confused landscape, which is locked in a multi-headed crisis of vacancy in more than one position, due to financial and social troubles and political feuding.
Local sources, however, believe that Frangieh may soon end this ambiguity and that arrangements are underway to support his candidacy for the post and ensure Bkirki’s backing, while Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi submitted a list of other names to reach a consensus candidate and a charter.
In return, opponents from the Christian forces, led by Samir Geagea’s Lebanese Forces party, have begun to lead the PMF either to boycott or obstruct the quorum by contacting leaders of other allied powers, which in turn oppose Suleiman Frangieh’s candidacy.
According to a report by Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, Franjieh “became more comfortable after the announcement of the agreement”. They revealed that the leader of the Marada Movement “who recently met with a Bkirki delegate, the patron of the Maronite Antelias Diocese, Bishop Antoun Abi Najm, was decisive in his candidacy, confirming that he will not back down and holding Christians responsible for disrupting the elections. He expressed great resentment of the campaign against him and considering him an uncharitable president who did not respond to the paper carried by the archbishop and bearing the names of candidates he agrees with in Bkirki.”
The Lebanese Forces Party, the Phalangist Party and some of the powers that oppose Frangieh’s candidacy are slandering the boycott bill and disrupting the quorum in parliament. They have begun working to hold extensive meetings with Walid Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party, Sunni MPs and the Change Forces, in order to mobilize “to face any session of Frangieh’s election and to explore the possibility of uniting behind a name for the presidency”, the newspaper said.
But sources familiar with this movement said that the Forces and Brigades are facing a problem. Despite meeting with the Progressive Socialist Party to support candidate Michel Moawad (Hezbollah’s opponent), Jumblatt’s party refuses to make a commitment to boycott the parliamentary session or delay the quorum to undermine the session.
Jumblatt seems keen not to strain relations with Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, leader of the Amal Movement, and does not want to break contacts with Franjieh.
“For Sunni MPs, they tend to hesitate to state a clear position on Franjieh’s candidacy and are not enthusiastic about the idea of a boycott, while the forces of change are divided between those who oppose the boycott and those who support the idea of a disruption but see no room for agreeing on a name.”
Given this, it seems that the idea of a boycott might be the most suitable option for the entire force to block the way of recommending Franjieh as a presidential candidate.
Gebran Bassil, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, which sought support from allies Hezbollah and Amal, continues to reject dialog with the Marada Movement over the presidential vacuum, unless Fangiya renounces the nomination.
According to the Lebanese newspaper, Bassil is likely betting on a positive and quick stance in the patriarchate’s efforts to provide the largest Christian consensus regarding the presidential elections. It said, “The convergence of views between the movement and the forces has taken advanced steps, and direct communication channels between the two sides are diverse under the heading of personal relations.”
These contacts have reached the point of an ongoing exchange of indirect views on the names, with a focus on senior retired Maronite officials and the heads of Maronite institutions, in light of the consensus of the Patriarchate, Aouni, Forces, Kataeb, and Socialist that the only way to regain the initiative in the presidential entitlement is this quick preliminary agreement, without the need for reconciliation or even direct dialogs, it added.
