March 8 Official Rules Out Imminent Election of President

An official from the Hizbullah-led March 8 camp has ruled out the imminent election of a president despite the latest optimism that followed the return of ex-PM Saad Hariri to Lebanon.

“All domestic files have become practically suspended pending the outcome of the developments in the region,” a March 8 source close to Hizbullah told the Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat, adding that he totally rules out “the election of a president in the near future.”

The source also noted that Hizbullah has not taken a final decision on the issue of Hariri's re-designation as prime minister, despite the “openness” that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has expressed in his latest speeches.

“Accepting the appointment of Hariri as premier -- which is the most important post in the Lebanese state – will definitely not happen amid the current circumstances,” the source added.

The ex-PM has been exploring the possibility of endorsing the presidential nomination of Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun for several weeks now and MP Alain Aoun of the FPM announced Monday that Hariri will announce his endorsement of Aoun “this week.”

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Hariri launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.