The head of the "Free Patriotic Movement," MP Gibran Basil, has confirmed his bloc's choice for the presidential candidate Jihad Azour, considering him the best among the candidates. He described the relationship between the movement and "Hezbollah" as "standing on one leg," expressing his concern about not breaking the understanding between the two sides, asking "kindly" not to pressure the bloc's MPs or attempt to intimidate them. From his perspective, the solution lies in dialogue and taking into account the opinions of all blocs, away from betrayal, intimidation, and threats.
Basil called on the Shiite duo to stop the language of threats and to refrain from inciting the bloc's MPs. He stated, "We still consider ourselves friends and have proven that no one can surpass the Christian component, and we will not accept any party imposing the name of the president on us; we stand independently. Neither sanctions nor any campaign of threats have intimidated us. Everyone is aware now that our true connection is with our convictions. We are open to dialogue before, during, and after the session—there can be no president without dialogue. A president without a program is not a solution, and the real solution is to reach an agreement with us and others without isolating any party."
He added, "Tomorrow's session is the beginning of a path towards a solution, and it is not in anyone's interest to create problems or manipulate votes; let the actual result show itself tomorrow and let the process be conducted in a democratic spirit." He clarified, "Our disagreement with Hezbollah has expanded to the point of national partnership. We agree on many sovereign issues and do not want to line up politically against Hezbollah. We rejected the duo's option, but in the elections, we must vote for a specific candidate. We have tried the white paper and decided long ago to move away from it and avoid remaining in a state of vacuum. We have come together with the opposition."
He continued, "Mr. Hassan himself said this does not mean we have exited the understanding: I do not betray you, nor do you betray me. Will we become spies if we choose a candidate, and Mr. Hassan knows best who we are?" He warned against the country falling into "tension, assassinations, and strife." He said, "It is forbidden to accuse us of a fictitious isolation of a basic component in the homeland. The Free Patriotic Movement is outside this accusation. We are the line of defense against strife."
He emphasized, "Our concern today is to find a solution, and we have not yet decided on participating in the government. From the outset, we have relinquished our right to the presidency because we saw the political system's domination and do not want to repeat General Aoun's experience. Our clear decision was to agree on the naming without naming anyone from our side. We agreed to Azour because he is not provocative and does not pose a challenge to anyone. He is also opposed to the policies of the governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh."
He further explained that with the confrontation forces, they decided to maintain a good relationship, without a formal alliance, as they agree on many sovereign and reform issues but differ on resistance, and they do not want to line up politically with them against Hezbollah. Basil added after a meeting of the "Strong Lebanon" bloc: "We decided to maintain a good relationship with the confrontation forces without an alliance because we agree on many sovereign and reform issues but differ on resistance; we do not want to be politically aligned against Hezbollah." He mentioned, "In the presidential elections, we said no to confrontation and resistance; if we chose a candidate, does that turn us into spies? In tomorrow's session, we will not be part of any conflict with an inciting nature; our concern is ending the vacuum and electing a president of the republic, knowing that this is not the complete solution, but part of it."
