Jumblat Conditions Drop of Helou Candidacy on Pullout of Other Nominations

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has said he was ready to pull the candidacy of Aley lawmaker Henri Helou if the other candidates decided to do so in an attempt to resolve the country's presidential deadlock.

In remarks to As Safir newspaper published on Tuesday, Jumblat said: “We should seek to safeguard the country by placing the nation's interest before any other interest.”

“This would materialize by speedy concessions made by everyone and through the election of a compromise president who is capable of managing the crisis,” he said.

“In this case, I don't mind to pull the candidacy of MP Henri Helou if the others do the same to facilitate an agreement that would end the vacuum,” the PSP chief added.

Lebanon's top Christian post was left vacant on May 25 when President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended amid a failure by the rival March 8 and 14 alliances to find a successor over their dispute on a compromise candidate.

Jumblat has backed the candidacy of Aley MP Helou, saying Lebanon needs a centrist president.

Other candidates include Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, who has received the backing of the March 14 camp, and his rival Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.

But Aoun has not officially nominated himself, claiming there should be consensus on him first. His Change and Reform bloc and other MPs from the March 8 alliance have been boycotting parliamentary sessions aimed at electing a president, causing a lack of quorum.

According to Jumblat, the withdrawal of Geagea's candidacy does not constitute a problem. The main issue is Aoun.

“Hizbullah should play a major role in convincing his ally to pull his nomination,” he said. “But until now, this seems to be impossible.”

On another controversial issue, the PSP chief told As Safir that his party was seeking to resolve the dispute on the new wage scale for the public sector.

MPs have been unable to agree on the pay raise over differences on taxes and the negative effects of the funding on the struggling economy.

“We are trying to find a decent solution for the righteous demands of the Syndicate Coordination Committee,” said Jumblat.

The SCC, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, has been demanding a 121 percent wage hike. But MPs are studying a draft-law with reduced numbers.

The head of the SCC, Hanna Gharib, met with Jumblat on Monday.

G.K.

H.K.