Salam Gets 86 Votes on Day 1 of Consultations, Aoun's Vote Uncounted and Helou Joins Jumblat's Bloc

Eighty-six lawmakers nominated Beirut MP Tammam Salam for the premiership on the first day of binding parliamentary consultations at the Baabda Palace, winning key endorsements from across the political spectrum.

The consultations kicked off on Friday with Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, who stated after meeting with President Michel Suleiman that he nominates Salam for the premiership.

“We are looking forward to achieving a positive shock in Lebanon, which entails nominating Salam to head a new government,” he told reporters at the Baabda Palace.

Miqati emphasized the importance of the transition of power in Lebanon: “Some say that I am the victim in this entire process, but I did not head the premiership to pursue personal goals. I have no regrets”.

Suleiman then met with Speaker Nabih Berri, as part of the binding parliamentary consultations, and the latter named MP Salam to head the cabinet.

Berri's Development and Liberation bloc also supported Salam for premiership.

The bloc had held talks earlier on Friday at Berri's Ain el-Tineh residence, revealing its endorsement for Salam to head a new government.

Another vote to Salam was granted by Deputy Speaker MP Farid Makari who hoped that the Beirut lawmaker would succeed in forming a government that will oversee the elections and “cater to the country's needs”.

Makari added: “We hope that we will witness the rise of one Lebanon, not two. We hope the formation of the government will be as easy as Salam's nomination”.

"We oppose having ministers in a new government who will also run in the elections,” he pointed out.

Berri's deputy stressed that the Baabda Declaration should act as the new cabinet's ministerial statement.

In the Baabda Declaration, 16 political leaders from both the March 8 majority coalition and the March 14 opposition agreed to avoid rhetoric that fuels sectarian incitement.

They also pledged to consolidate stability to prevent the country from descending into strife.

The Change and Reform bloc also voiced their support for MP Salam.

“We nominated Salam and we believe that his nomination will restore national unity in Lebanon,” the bloc's MP Ibrahim Kanaan said after meeting with the president.

However, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun held a press conference before his bloc's talks with Suleiman, and asserted that he will boycott the consultations because “he feels like it”.

"Our decision is not because we are taking a stand against President Suleiman,” he noted.

Aoun said he supports national unity and stability: “An agreement was reached over Salam”.

LBCI television remarked that Aoun's vote for Salam did not count because he is required to hand over a written consent over the matter.

Al-Mustaqbal was the next bloc to meet with President Suleiman and it's head MP Fouad Saniora told reporters that the lawmakers' nominations of Salam “stems from their commitment to Lebanon, its democracy, and sovereignty”.

"The current situation obligates the formation of a government capable of restoring trust among the people and of confronting the challenges it will face,” Saniora said.

“The new government will be obligated to hold the elections to restore the functioning of state institutions and authority of the state and tackle daily concerns”.

Hoping that the new government will “adhere to the state and its laws and pave the way for the return to the national dialogue”, Saniora confirmed that the al-Mustaqbal MPs will stand by Salam throughout the process of forming the cabinet.

LBCI remarked that six al-Mustaqbal MPs did not attend the Baabda Palace consultations, but they sent written authorizations to name Salam.

These MPs are: Bahia Hariri, Saad Hariri, Jamal al-Jarrah, Nouhad al-Mashnouq, Mohammed Hajjar, and Oqab Saqr.

However, because he is a former premier, al-Mustaqbal Movement's head Saad Hariri's vote could not be counted through a written authorization only.

He did, however, phone the president and inform him personally about his decision of nominating Salam for premiership, al-Jadeed television reported.

After, the president of the republic met with Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, and MP Mohammed Raad declared that they nominate Salam for premiership.

Accompanied by MP Henry Helou, the National Struggle Front, which has become comprised of eight lawmakers, endorsed Tammam Salam to head the new cabinet.

The National Struggle Front head MP Walid Jumblat said after meeting with Suleiman: “We have nominated Mr. Tammam Salam”.

He added: “The bloc lauds the tremendous efforts exerted by ex-PM Najib Miqati to preserve stability”.

The last MPs to meet with the president on the first day of the binding parliamentary consultations were Michel Murr and Nayla Tueni who also named Salam for premiership.

“Tammam Salam has a long history in the educational and political fields, and we support him in designation and in the formation of the cabinet,” Murr told reporters.

Regarding the new cabinet, he remarked that it must be a “national unity government that abides by the Baabda Declaration”.

“No one must obstruct the formation of a unity cabinet,” he stressed.

Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, who is scheduled to meet with Suleiman on Friday, announced in a released statement that he will boycott the parliamentary consultations because “Salam has clearly confirmed his political affiliation”, allowing the members of the Free United Lebanon bloc to choose the nominee they want.

The northern leader elaborated: “I respect and appreciate Salam and his prestigious family with whom we have an old relationship, but announcing his nomination from the (al-Mustaqbal Movement head MP Saad Hariri's) Center House on Thursday has clearly confirmed his affiliation with a political group”.

However, LBCI noted that Free United Lebanon MPs Salim Karam and Stephan Douaihy will also boycott the parliamentary consultations.

The March 14 forces had announced on Thursday that they have chosen Salam as their nominee for premiership.

"The lawmakers of the alliance and of Jamaa Islamiya will officially inform President Michel Suleiman about their candidate during Friday's parliamentary consultations,” said Saniora after a March 14 broad meeting at the Center House which was exclusively dedicated to discussing this issue.

Salam, who later joined the meeting after arriving from a trip to Riyadh where he met with ex-PM Hariri and several Saudi figures, thanked the convened figures for their nomination, hoping that this would "reflect in the best interest of Lebanon".

The Syrian Social National Party's lawmakers, who are are yet to meet with Suleiman on Friday, said in a released statement that they name the Beirut MP for premiership.

“We call for forming a cabinet that reflects real consensus,” the statement expressed.

The binding parliamentary consultations will resume on Saturday.