Harb Criticizes Aoun, Holds him Responsible for Presidential Impasse
Telecom Minister Butros Harb slammed on Monday the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Michel Aoun, considering him responsible for the ongoing presidential deadlock.
“Aoun refuses to engage in any electoral process if he wasn't 100% sure that he will be elected” as the new head of state, Harb said in comments published in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday.
He lashed out at the March 8 alliance, saying: “The problem is not with the March 14 coalition but with Aoun and his allies.”
“We (the March 14 camp) are ready at any time to participate in any electoral session, even if he will win,” the minister noted.
He held Aoun responsible for “the risks threatening the country due to the vacuum at the presidency.”
Harb called on the Lebanese people to hold the FPM chief accountable for “jeopardizing the political system in order to become a head of state.”
Lebanon has been plunged into a leadership vacuum after Michel Suleiman's presidential term ended on on May 25 with rival political blocs still divided over a new leader.
Over the past two months the parliament convened five times to try to elect a successor to Suleiman but failed during the last four sessions due to a lack of quorum.
The presidential vacuum raised fears that it would affect Lebanon's power-sharing agreement under which the president should be a Maronite, the premier a Sunni and the speaker a Shiite.
The cabinet assumes the executive tasks of the president as stated by the constitution until a new head of state is elected.
The next session is scheduled for June 9.
Aoun has not nominated himself to the presidency but the Democratic Gathering bloc candidate MP Henri Helou and the March 14 alliance nominee Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea are the only candidates who have submitted their candidacies.
Harb told Asharq al-Awsat that the March 14 alliance could nominate a figure other than Geagea for the presidency, especially, after the LF leader said that he would withdraw from the race if a deal was reached to back the candidacy of another March 14 alliance member.
“We will not make any new move before we are certain that the rival party will respect the democratic game,” he added.
H.K.
over 10 years
Seriously Man they do need a Doctor.
over 10 years
I see Harb had back surgery so he can stand up straight. The brain surgeon is due back from Switzerland in 2017. "Democratic game" is a symptom of a sever degenerative condition known as racism.
over 10 years
i think it's time you did a tour in Iran. They might even play you some Goebbels videos, show you that you still have room to improve before you master the art of spin and brainwashing.
As they say in French Schools on reports: "peut faire mieux"
over 10 years
The system is built for impasse. Putting exclusively into the hands of Parliament, which is selected by foreign backers, the duty of Presidential election, the current situation is to be expected as there are competing parties with no accountability to anyone, much less to the people.
We need a popularly elected Maronite President in an electoral college setting so that the 128 votes of Parliament, the electoral college must be cast as the vote of the people dictates to them that they should so vote.
over 10 years
Aoun is also be responsible for traitors like Rafic Syria, Fares Soaid, Butros Harb and Dr. Arreet 7akeh bouncing into the arms of the Syrians at the height of their occupation.
Aoun: "boo hoo hoo, will not play if you don't give me my lollipop."