Jamaa Islamiya Says to Cast Blank Vote as Kabbara Decides to Vote for Aoun

The Jamaa Islamiya announced Friday that its MP Imad al-Hout will cast a blank vote in Monday's presidential election session as Mustaqbal bloc MP Mohammed Kabbara of Tripoli expressed support for “ex-PM Saad Hariri's approach.”

“Vacuum and the other flaws are the result of the mentality of obstruction that draws its strength from the de facto forces... and seeing as General Michel Aoun's nomination relied on this approach,... we therefore cannot accept this nomination and we will cast a blank vote on Monday,” Jamaa Islamiya's general secretariat said in a statement.

“Surrendering to the approach of blackmail and hegemony represents a renouncement of the rights of the country and its citizens,” the group added, noting that its stance is aimed at “defending the rights of the citizens who are looking for a camp that represents the last line of defense for the State, the Constitution, freedom and justice.”

Kabbara meanwhile announced that he supports “ex-PM Saad Hariri's approach that is aimed at rescuing the country from the plot that has paralyzed it for more than two years.”

“Rescuing the country from complete paralysis and vacuum requires the rallying of the efforts of all national political forces in order to facilitate ex-PM Hariri's mission in forming a government that fills the void, oversees the promised parliamentary polls, and contributes to devising an electoral law that can enjoy consensus,” the MP said.

Aoun was tipped to become president after Hariri formally endorsed him last week but at least five members of the ex-PM's Mustaqbal bloc have openly announced that they will not vote for Aoun.

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, who is close to Saudi Arabia, had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Hizbullah's ally and 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 have argued 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.