The country's entry into a state of vacancy and the almost daily calls from several political forces, concerned spiritual authorities, and various segments of Lebanese society for the necessity to end this presidential vacancy and elect a new president who would help organize state institutions and contribute to economic recovery, have not changed the current reality. It has become clear that no faction possesses a majority capable of electing a president that represents them. Therefore, a settlement and a consensus president are essential. This point was reaffirmed by the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, after his visit to Ain al-Tineh yesterday, where he stated that the agreement with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was that there should be no candidate of challenge.
In the meantime, the positions of political forces remain unchanged. The sovereign team and some independent deputies continue to support their candidate, MP Michel Moawad, while the white card remains an option for the March 8 team until further notice, until the position of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) becomes clear as it seems to have its candidate for the upcoming phase.
In this context, member of the "Strong Lebanon" bloc, MP Cesar Abi Khalil, revealed the existence of two opinions within the bloc. The first emphasizes the continuation of voting with the white card as there is room for agreement on a consensus candidate, while the second insists on naming a candidate and voting for them in the next session, which would be better for the FPM that holds the largest parliamentary bloc.
Abi Khalil pointed out in an interview with the electronic newspaper "Al-Anbaa" that the bloc’s meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, will discuss this issue and will make an appropriate decision regarding it. He noted that neither side is in a position to secure a two-thirds majority (86 votes), even if one manages to gather 65 votes, emphasizing that his political team can gather 65 votes as seen in the struggle of MP Elias Bou Saab and MP Alain Aoun, but will certainly not secure the two-thirds quorum since the other team will not grant this majority without coordination with them. He stated that they will adopt the same stance towards them if they continue with a challenge candidate.
Abi Khalil expressed regret that "there is no new development so far and things are still stagnant, especially since everyone is capable of disrupting the quorum." However, he stated that "the Free Patriotic Movement, when it proposed consensus, was aware of the atmosphere that would likely be in its favor."
Regarding the nomination of former MP Sleiman Frangieh, Abi Khalil reiterated his bloc’s position of not voting for him, although "we know where Frangieh stands on strategic positions, but on practical matters, we do not know his stance on forensic auditing, fighting corruption, state management, and system development; electing him would bring us back to the same system."
In response to the failure of the presidency to implement reforms over the past six years, Abi Khalil said that "in the first three years, some achievements were made, but after the October 17 protests, the COVID-19 crisis, and the economic collapse, we reached hell." He wished for a return to the system prior to the 1990s when the president had broad powers.
