Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan announced his candidacy during an interview with journalist Dany Haddad on March 3, 2022. (Credit: @talalarslane/Twitter)
BEIRUT – Lebanese Democratic Party head Talal Arlsan announced his candidacy, along with several others, for the upcoming parliamentary elections during an interview with a local news outlet.
Here’s what we know:
• “We will nominate Marwan Kheireddine in Hasbaya, Wiam Wahhab in the Chouf, Tariq Daoud in western Bekaa, Nassib al-Gohari in Beirut II, and I am a candidate in Aley” Arslan announced during the interview.
• Arslan said that “[his party’s] calculations predict [his] victory in Aley”, adding that “if someone from civil society is a candidate, it will not be at our expense.“
• Arslan noted that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri had requested that banker Marwan Kheireddine be a member of the Amal parliamentary bloc.
• While Arslan said that rival Druze politician Walid Joumblatt did not oppose Kheireddine running with the LDP, he made no guarantees that he would not oppose them for the Druze seats in Aley.
• Kheireddine, chairman of Al-Mawarid bank and former Minister of State in the 2011-2014 Mikati government, was among the political figures criticized following the Oct. 17 uprisings. His name also appeared in the “Pandora Papers” leaks.