There are two tests facing the government that has been managing affairs since the parliamentary elections in May: the irregular return to public schools after tenders, which a union official described as acceptable but insufficient, as teachers in tenure and contracts continue to strike due to lack of trust, adding to the two months of disruption for students. If this test is extremely vital not only for the Ministry of Education but also for the ability of party educational offices to manage school bases and contractors, then the second test pertains to Electricité du Liban's ability to take significant steps toward securing a continuous electricity supply according to an agenda approved by the ministerial committee, provided that security elements from internal security forces and the Lebanese army provide escort and protection.
As the pricing of food and service commodities in US dollars is approximately one thousand Lebanese pounds above the black market exchange rate, it proceeds amidst consumer acceptance and rejection, awaiting some kind of normalization. The confrontation on the presidential front continues, seemingly as the March 8 coalition is determined to break the stalemate by going to a session to vote in favor of former MP Sleiman Franjieh, a step that awaits more information and positions regarding the voting process if it occurs, and the potential results of this calculated step if taken accurately from the presidency of the parliament.
Informed political sources told "Al-Liwaa" that recent positions recorded in the presidential file confirm that "the game is now in the open," noting that currently the space is more than closed and there is a need to cool the atmosphere before entering into any new attempts. These sources observed that there are no new proposals in this file, and none will emerge soon as the parties have expressed their views and there is no change in political positions; they feared that the vacancy may prolong alongside successive collapses. They revealed that communications are taking place, but they do not contribute to hastening the resolution of the presidential file.
While awaiting the speech of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah today, Monday, on the occasion of "Wounded Day," President Nabih Berri stirred the stagnant waters of the presidential entitlement by officially opening the door for nominations and competition for the presidency, announcing last week that the joint candidate of "Amal," "Hezbollah," and their allies is the head of the "Mard" movement, Sleiman Franjieh, after four months of deliberate ambiguity regarding the non-announcement of a candidate from this team, countering the challenge facing the other parties that have not yet been able to agree on a candidate due to divisions and disagreements among opposition groups over which candidate to propose.
In practical terms, some information indicates that Berri benefited from what he heard from US Ambassador Dorothy Shea and French Ambassador Anne Grillo, as well as leaked information regarding the Saudi position, that the three parties have no specific candidate and that what matters to them is the candidate’s program and that the electoral process must be purely Lebanese. Therefore, Berri has shown readiness to hold an electoral session, rumored to be before the start of Ramadan, despite conflicting information about the difficulty of securing sufficient votes for Franjieh (65 votes and above) if the Free Patriotic Movement continues to reject Franjieh's nomination. Nevertheless, he has proceeded with the challenge for the presidential contest, perhaps relying on individual parliamentary votes for Franjieh, including votes from some MPs of the Free Patriotic Movement, especially since the movement has yet to propose any candidate even though its head, MP Gebran Bassil, has stated that he is considering running for the presidency, which could shift the equations again and broaden the scope of competition while further scattering parliamentary votes to the extent that it becomes difficult for Bassil to obtain a high or reasonable percentage of votes.
In this context, the cards of the presidential battle have become clear, and the confrontation is also evident between two options, one for the coalition and its allies and the other or others for the opposition parties, imposing the need to go toward a third option that is acceptable to the parliamentary majority or half of the council members and above, and also acceptable to the Arab and foreign countries concerned with the Lebanese situation, which in turn restores the doors of dialogue among internal parties and between them and the foreign countries concerned with Lebanon's situation.
These atmospheres coincided with information from close partisan sources regarding the presidential entitlement that indicated that the meetings with some ambassadors of countries interested in the Lebanese situation showed a "encouragement" from the international community for a comprehensive dialogue among the Lebanese political forces, whether in parliament or under the Baabda Palace, to reach an understanding on electing a president for the republic. The sources noted that there has been a decision to withdraw from nominating someone who cannot gather 65 votes and above in parliament to avoid wasting more time fruitlessly, in favor of other candidates who can garner 65 votes and carry a clear economic, unifying, and reformist program, from among which one should be selected.
The sources also pointed to the importance of what the Maronite Archbishop of Antelias, Bishop Antoine Bou Najm, is doing to gather Christian forces to agree on a unified approach concerning the presidential entitlement, which everyone will take to parliament to elect the president. They noted that he will continue his tour of Christian forces and may again meet with Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil and "Mard" movement head Sleiman Franjieh after recently meeting with Samy Gemayel, head of the Kataeb Party, and Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces (twice).
In this context, it has been rumored that Baabda will send invitations to all Christian MPs for a meeting after preparing an agenda and the points that may be included in the statement that will be issued. Additionally, it was reported that the Strong Republic bloc will decide its position early in the week after its meeting and is awaiting the agenda to determine its course of action. It has also been confirmed that the Free Patriotic Movement and the Tashnag Party will participate in the meeting.
In a related presidential context, the Progressive Socialist Party denied some news sites' attribution of a statement to its head, Walid Jumblatt, that he said to the Kuwaiti newspaper "Al-Jarida" that he has suspended his initiative awaiting a cooling period and is focusing on a third candidate other than Franjieh and army commander Joseph Aoun. The party indicated that Jumblatt did not give any statement to the mentioned newspaper.
In the statements, the Higher Islamic Jurisprudence Council expressed "serious concern over the failure to elect a new president whose election serves as an entry point for a comprehensive national solution, as well as a basis for restoring stability, reassurance, and trust internally and externally, especially with Arab brothers," affirming that "there is no alternative to Lebanon but Lebanon. There is no alternative to national unity except through national unity. There is no message for Lebanon except the message of human brotherhood and equality in citizenship based on coexistence."
For this reason, the Islamic Jurisprudence Council urged "the parliament and political and party leaderships, despite their differences and pluralism, to reach a national consensus that leads to the election of a president who upholds the constitution, is committed to the Taif Agreement in good faith, seeks to strengthen the bonds of national unity, and draws strength from it."
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, in a sermon during Sunday Mass, stated: "The election of a president is stalled because, unfortunately, the disagreement revolves around whether he belongs to the resistance camp, as it is called, or to the sovereignty camp. The only solution lies in breaking out of this equation and having the people elect a national president free from any ties, biases, or camps."
He added: "This is the president Lebanon needs to earn the trust of everyone internally and of all countries externally, so that this president can lead the necessary reforms needed to obtain international and regional assistance. This is the priority of priorities and the necessities that the two MPs who have been sitting in parliament have reminded their fellow MPs of for thirty days. As for the pursuit of extending the presidential vacancy for hidden goals contrary to the Lebanese identity, it constitutes an intensification of crime by demolishing state institutions, oppressing Lebanese citizens by impoverishing and displacing them from their homeland, and depriving them from achieving their aspirations on their land and contributing to its construction, as they do in other countries that hosted them."
It is the duty of political players to work seriously to renew the social contract that guarantees cultural and religious diversity among Lebanese based on modernity and the removal of mutual fear, so that everyone, individuals and groups, looks to their national future with hope and confidence, sharing a sense of responsibility in shaping a pioneering role for Lebanon in the coming decades, investing in its unique characteristics, differential advantages, and cultural values.
On the educational front, secondary contracted teachers in public schools announced in a statement their return to teaching today, Monday, requesting directors to open schools for those present. They stated in their announcement: "Educating our children and providing for our families is dignity in itself, especially in these tough circumstances where the contractor has lost three months of dues and is solely responsible for paying the strike expenses. They added: "If tenured teachers suffered what we suffer from being deprived of their salaries during the strike, they would not have struck for a single moment, and that is the bottom line." Dignity cannot be divided, and it begins first and foremost with the great sacrifices that all contractors bear and withstand reluctantly.
In contrast, teachers in the public school teaching body called on teachers to attend secondary schools today merely to sign in (for attendance) while refraining from teaching. They stated in their announcement: "After the unions have disavowed their commitments and continued to violate the internal regulations, and since the return decision is a fateful decision that must exclusively come from the general assemblies, and since the humiliating return decision serves as a cover for rampant corruption in educational circles, we now call on our fellow teachers to sign today in secondary schools while abstaining from teaching." They also called for the immediate resignation of the administrative board, "because it has become incapable of managing the current phase and has lost trust."
They hoped for massive participation in the central sit-in in front of the Ministry of Education. However, the association of administrative staff in the public administration announced the continuation of the strike for another two weeks, extending until Friday, March 17, 2023, and holding a sit-in and press conference on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. They emphasized their commitment to their demands, particularly increasing salaries and pensions by two additional months and incorporating them with previous increases into the core salary and converting them to US dollars on a platform that does not exceed 15,000 Lebanese pounds, which is the officially announced exchange rate for the dollar.
