Saad Hariri's future in politics has been the subject of much discussion since he stepped down from forming a new cabinet in the summer. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — A number of Future Movement MPs denied Monday reports claiming that the party’s leader Saad Hariri will boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Here’s what we know:
• Rumors about Hariri boycotting next year's parliamentary elections and even retiring from politics have been circulating in local media since he gave up his efforts to form a new cabinet and stepped down as prime minister designate during the summer.
• MP Sami Fatfat (Minyeh-Dinnieh) and MP Hadi Hobeiche (Akkar), both denied statements attributed to Saad Hariri today, including those published in Al Modon newspaper, in which the former prime minister reportedly indicated his intention to boycott the 2022 parliamentary elections. “I personally participated in the Future [Movement’s] meeting and Mr. Hariri has not informed us of any decision regarding his candidacy for the elections,” Fatfat said in a tweet, adding that the information circulating recently on this subject is only the “daydreams” of some. Hobeiche meanwhile tweeted that “the comments that have been published about Hariri and the Future Movement have been spiced up and we did not discuss the details of the elections.”
• A spokesperson for the Future Movement told L’Orient Today when asked about the possibility of Hariri not running in the elections that the former prime minister “will announce his stance at the right time and the party will act accordingly.” The spokesperson also said that during the party’s latest meeting “the discussion opposed what local media, who coincidentally are the political rivals of Hariri, are claiming.”