Rola Tabsh, right, poses with Saad Hariri in a social media photo. (Credit: screen grab)
BEIRUT — MP Rola Tabash announced at a press conference Friday that she will not run in the upcoming legislative elections, referencing her commitment to “Saad Hariri's decision to suspend political work” and her reluctance to run for office, stressing that she will continue defending Beirut “in face of the people trying to change its identity.”
Here’s what we know:
• Tabsh said in a statement that “Lebanon no longer resembles itself,” adding that the “[Future Movement] wanted the voter’s voice to be a weapon that draws the political map but they silenced everyone’s voices with their weapons. We wanted a country that resembles us … as envisioned by the martyred Prime Minister Rafik Hariri with reconstruction and prosperity ... They assassinated him on February 14, 2005, and they still take revenge on him.”
• She added that the party to which she belonged wanted to put “Lebanon first and paid for it in blood but they sold it in the market of sedition.”
• She added that the policies adopted during “this era of hell and Hezbollah’s arrogance is revenge against Lebanon.”
• “I declare my commitment not to run in the parliamentary elections ... It is enough for me to be called Beiruti, to return to my family, the people of Beirut, to share their joys and strive with all my strength to alleviate their concerns and pains as I have always done. Perhaps freedom from the chair and its duties will help me more to meet people,” she added.
• “The promise to go back to the roots and give people priority,” Tabsh said, “is Saad Hariri's promise and I abide by it.”