Mustaqbal Hopes FPM, Hizbullah Will Reconsider Boycott to Achieve National Settlement

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc criticized on Tuesday the Change and Reform bloc and Hizbullah's ongoing boycott of presidential elections sessions, saying that such stances are “negative and unacceptable” and will only serve to prolong vacuum.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “Hizbullah and the Change and Reform bloc should reconsider their positions in order to allow Lebanese political powers the opportunity to reach national settlement.”

This settlement should lead to the election of a “strong and consensual” president, it explained.

This president should enjoy “qualities of leadership, as well as have a comprehensive and advanced vision of Lebanon's role in its surroundings and the world,” the Mustaqbal bloc added.

He should enjoy the support of the majority of the Lebanese people “and work on uniting them in order to enable them to confront dangerous problems Lebanon is suffering from,” it stressed.

To that end, the bloc reiterated the need to adhere to the March 14 camp's initiative aimed at electing a president.

“The bloc will continue to propose the initiative and hopes that the other camp will accept it in order to reach this national settlement,” it said.

In their initiative, unveiled in September, the March 14 forces maintained their support for Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea's presidential bid while voicing readiness to strike an agreement with the other camp over electing the candidate who enjoys the needed support to become the country's “consensual” president.

Lebanon has been without a president since May when the term of Michel Suleiman ended.

Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the elections.

The dispute has prompted the Change and Reform bloc and Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc to boycott electoral sessions.

M.T.

Y.R.