Bassil: Winning Presidency Doesn't Mean Giving Up Partnership in Parliament, Govt.

Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil announced Sunday that the election of FPM founder Michel Aoun as Lebanon's president will not push the movement to give up “full partnership” in the parliament and government.

“Mistaken are those who thought that winning the presidency would mean giving up full partnership in the electoral law,” Bassil said at the Mar Mikhail Church in Shiyyah, where the FPM and Hizbullah marked the 11th anniversary of their memorandum of understanding in the presence of Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Ali Ammar.

“Mistaken are those who believe that winning the presidency would push us to give up partnership in the parliament and government,” Bassil added.

“The Mar Mikhail understanding brought down the walls of civil war, the Maarab agreement removed the lines of confrontation inside neighborhoods and homes, and our agreement with al-Mustaqbal Movement demolishes the walls of marginalization for the sake of partnership,” the FPM chief went on to say.

Ammar for his part said Hizbullah “rejects extension and the 1960 law,” calling for “a modern electoral law that does not eliminate anyone and takes everyone's concerns into consideration.”