A notable movement is observed in the political arena, even if there is no significant breakthrough; the ability of President Nabih Berri to restart the mechanisms at Ain al-Tineh, despite the failure of his initiative to hold a dialogue table, and his recent meeting with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt, suggest that lines of communication are ongoing in an attempt to weave at least minimal understandings capable of creating a groundwork for a presidential settlement until the regional and international atmospheres mature. Political sources following the ongoing communications indicated in a call with "Anbaa" electronic that the phase after the Jumblatt-Berri meeting is not like before; this is evident in all previous meetings between them. When positions among political forces reach a point of no return, they would meet to smooth over differences and prevent matters from escalating further in order to agree on a formula that satisfies all parties. It can be inferred from Jumblatt's recent statements that all obstacles are solvable.
In this context, Development and Liberation bloc member MP Qassem Hashem mentioned in a conversation with "Anbaa" electronic that President Berri's consultation mechanism is still active, and this consultation can happen at any time, whether in a dual manner or with more than one parliamentary bloc, based on the mechanism that can be adopted. However, he believes that consultation does not rule out direct dialogue among the integral groups, which ought to be better, but unfortunately, this issue has faced opposition from the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement, leading to a freeze in dialogue; nonetheless, Berri has not closed the door to consultation.
Hashem stated, “The goal of dialogue is to reach consensus, which does not mean the cancellation of his initiative at all, and there must be dialogue and consensus.” He expected Thursday's session to be ordinary because nothing on the horizon indicates any change at this point. Regarding whether there would be a candidate that the 8 March team would vote for in the session, Hashem indicated that the topic is still under study, and no direction has been taken nor any decision made about it; starting from Wednesday and Thursday morning, a clearer picture might emerge within the next 48 hours.
Concerning the continuation of voting with a blank ballot, Hashem clarified that a blank ballot is possible since a final position has not yet been adopted, ruling out the naming of any candidate in the session because the subject should be aimed at reaching the election of a president, not at maneuvers.
As fingers of accusation point towards the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement for obstructing dialogue, former MP Joseph Issaq, a leader in the Lebanese Forces, highlighted the need for dialogue to continue without interruption and that there is no disagreement between them and President Berri on this point; however, there are differences in viewpoints. He added, “We have a priority represented by electing a President of the Republic, and we want dialogue within the council between sessions, with the council in a state of constant convening rather than setting just one session a week.”
Issaq continued, “Where is the problem? In France, the deputies stayed inside the council for six days until they were able to elect a president,” considering the assertion of the need for prior consensus as a constitutional violation. He called on Berri to invite a regular session to discuss the person of the president, even if it required holding consecutive sessions where joint names would be raised, which would then lead to electing one of them as president. There is a necessity for the Lebanese people to feel that we are in a session to elect a President of the Republic and not in a session of political maneuvers, reiterating the continuation of the nomination of MP Michel Moawad and securing support for him to reach the number of 65 deputies, after which they would increase pressure to achieve a consensus around him so he can become the President of the Republic.
In the meantime, the Free Patriotic Movement is expected to finalize its decision today regarding Thursday's session, including whether it will participate with a candidate or stick to the option of a blank ballot. Thus, no new developments are anticipated in the upcoming session as attention remains on any potential changes in the following session.
