Mustaqbal Dismisses Reports of Imminent Aoun-Hariri 'Presidential Deal'
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Al-Mustaqbal movement has poured cold water on remarks by a number of Free Patriotic Movement lawmakers about the presence of a certain “deal” with former premier Saad Hariri that would see FPM leader Michel Aoun reach the Baabda Palace, amid the insistence of FPM sources on the existence of such efforts.
In remarks published Sunday in the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, a prominent, unnamed Mustaqbal minister said it is most likely that the election of a new president will not happen within the constitutional timeframe, which ends on May 25, noting that a presidential vacuum is looming on the horizon.
“All reports alleging that there is a presidential deal between Aoun and Hariri are implausible and inaccurate, but should they start to materialize, that would be part of a grand settlement, which does not seem to be possible in the near future,” the Mustaqbal source said.
He pointed out that should Hariri decide to “return to the premiership, he would return when he wants to, without needing a deal with Aoun such as the one that is being promoted.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker Farid Makari, a member of Hariri's Lebanon First bloc, said “the March 14 forces will carry on with supporting Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea's presidential bid.”
“We will fight Geagea's battle until the end but at the same time we will make sure to evaluate it as we move forward, in light of the available circumstances and chances,” Makari said, adding that “the next steps will be decided accordingly.”
For his part, March 14 General Secretariat Coordinator Fares Soaid stressed to Asharq al-Awsat that Geagea will remain March 14's candidate and that the decision is irreversible at the moment.
“The battle's strategy will not change before Wednesday's session and all the parties concerned in the March 14 camp, including the Kataeb Party and its leader Amin Gemayel, have formed a collective leadership in order to oversee the coming electoral phases,” Soaid added.
As for the FPM, Change and Reform bloc MP Salim Salhab on Sunday told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) that Aoun “will only nominate himself for the presidency if contacts manage to turn him into a consensual candidate, because he does not want to be a confrontational nominee.”
He revealed that there are consultations that might lead to choosing Aoun as a consensus candidate, emphasizing that “there are efforts to find a president who can resolve the crisis instead of merely managing it.”
On Saturday, Salhab's bloc colleague MP Alain Aoun had announced that the FPM was “communicating” with Mustaqbal, without ruling out the possibility that Hariri and his movement could endorse Aoun's candidacy.
Lebanon staged on Wednesday the first round of the presidential elections, but neither of the candidates, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and Democratic Gathering MP Henri Helou, garnered the needed 86 votes of lawmakers to win the polls.
The second round of the elections will be held on Wednesday with a candidate needing 65 votes in order to emerge victorious.
President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ends on May 25 amid fears that the lack of consensus over a successor will lead to vacuum in the country's top post.
Y.R.
27 April 2014, 16:45
511
march 8 is desperate and launching misinformation campaigns to try to create discord among m14 :)
the problem is that m8 are so transparent that no one believes them :)
they can dream about placing aoun at the presidency :)
although I would like to have Geagea as President, I am realistic enough to know he will not be, but at the same time, aoun does not even stand a single chance :)
27 April 2014, 17:24
94
Ft...that's exactly what's going to happen.....let these fools live in ignoranceand denial
27 April 2014, 17:33
53
I really have no comment about all of this lousiness. Same old news different day. Presidential vacuum seems to be what we're heading towards.
One thing I noticed though, although the title is about a Aoun-Hariri deal, the tags added don't even mention Aoun. A bit odd!
27 April 2014, 17:35
45
I think it is very unlikely to happen FT. I'm sure you'd rather see new different names in all these posts
27 April 2014, 17:36
115
Hariri is paid by Saudi, paying the takfiris with Saudi dollars. You are a real clown texas. Everybody knows this
27 April 2014, 18:05
57
texas, u're one of the guys with the best posts on naharnet, but like i told u before, u spend so much time debating with pathetic liars...
27 April 2014, 18:12
55
Aoun could become easily president.
He knows the condition : lebanese sovereignty...
27 April 2014, 18:23
94
It's no secret that the Resistance, enjoys support from the majority Lebanese, Syria and Iran. That doesn't make them Syrian or Iranian for that matter, by the way, I never understood you americans thought that it is a bad thing to be Iranian, they are intellectual people, much better than most Arabs, and especially better than any of you Americans.
27 April 2014, 19:45
55
anonymetexasusa, do waste time with Mystic & Southern they are Assad/Iranian slaves and the other blowhard Full-of-BS is in love with the sound of his voice.
Mr Full-of-it, tell us some more about the Epic geo-political struggle between the Evil Zionist forces and the defenders of the good the Orthodox Christian Russians... Please!
27 April 2014, 19:49
55
Full-of-BS, if eating Dung was an Olympic sport you would take all three medals. Run Full-of-it run or one of the Zionist Cannibals is going to get you.
27 April 2014, 20:13
52
Wow this thread has really kicked off. It's amazing how you all defend your sides with such conviction. You mirror the problem in our country with your constant bickering.
@anoyme It's clear that you hate Hezbollah and you probably have reason to which you have stated so eloquently. You need to accept though that that is your view, which you are most definitely entitled to, but that not everyone in the country agrees with. Is Hezbollah an Iranian funded militia, yes most certainly. No one disagrees on that. Clearly they disagree on two things whether it's a terrorist militia and whether they are traitors with an Iranian agenda. You think they are but they don't.
27 April 2014, 20:14
42
The video you posted is genuine and not a fake and Nasrallah himself talked about it during an interview with OTV. He said that was then and this is now and that people change... Does Hariri have a Saudi agenda? Again does he have some sort of Saudi allegiance? Yes he does and he never denies it. In fact he's proud of his relationship with the Saudis.
Man the problem is that everyone seems to be working on a sectarian agenda whether it be hidden or not. Let's get rid of the past and encourage the new and enough with the useless bickering.
27 April 2014, 20:16
32
Wow this thread has really kicked off. It's amazing how you all defend your sides with such conviction. You mirror the problem in our country with your constant bickering.
@anoyme It's clear that you hate Hezbollah and you probably have reason to which you have stated so eloquently. You need to accept though that that is your view, which you are most definitely entitled to, but that not everyone in the country agrees with. Is Hezbollah an Iranian funded militia, yes most certainly. No one disagrees on that. Clearly they disagree on two things whether it's a terrorist militia and whether they are traitors with an Iranian agenda. You think they are but they don't.
27 April 2014, 20:16
32
The video you posted is genuine and not a fake and Nasrallah himself talked about it during an interview with OTV. He said that was then and this is now and that people change... Does Hariri have a Saudi agenda? Again does he have some sort of Saudi allegiance? Yes he does and he never denies it. In fact he's proud of his relationship with the Saudis.
Man the problem is that everyone seems to be working on a sectarian agenda whether it be hidden or not. Let's get rid of the past and encourage the new and enough with the useless bickering.
27 April 2014, 20:23
32
btw I'm not saying I believe or disbelieve Nasrallah in regards to his reasoning to why at the time this is what he said. I'm just reiterating what he said during that interview. Only time will tell people's true intentions.
27 April 2014, 20:58
32
anonyme
First of all I would hardly call them fallacies as they are neither my view, my assessment nor my conclusion. I am saying how they see it i.e. the people you've been bickering with. I am not belittling anything so don't patronize me please.
In regards to the other issue. I don't think I mentioned anywhere in my post whether or not he operates within state authority - under Lebanese Law & subject to Lebanese Judiciary oversight. Did I?
Anyway have a good Sunday
28 April 2014, 06:11
01
Hariri Has the Biggest Share in Saudi Oger it is a lebanese company and thousands of lebanese work in that company and live in its compounds
