Wael Bou Faour in Maarab, Lebanon yesterday. (Credit: Lebanese Forces)
“Two projects are at loggerheads in Lebanon: that of Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement, on the one hand, and that of Lebanese Forces and their allies on the other.”
These were the words of LF leader Samir Geagea, who defined once again yesterday the broad lines of the “existential” battle he is waging in the context of May’s legislative elections.
To achieve his goal, the Maronite leader has chosen to join forces with the Progressive Socialist Party of Walid Jumblatt, also hostile to the party of Hassan Nasrallah.
It is true that the two leaders have always fought the electoral battle side by side. But, a few weeks out from the polls, the renewal of this alliance comes in the context of Arab efforts to support parties opposed to Hezbollah, pushing them to unify their ranks.
It is from this perspective that the contacts regularly made between the LF and the PSP should be considered.
Yesterday, Joumblatt sent Wael Bou Faour, his MP for Rachaya, to Maarab, Geagea’s residency.
This comes a few days after talks led by Melhem Riachi, a former Minister of Information (LF), Ziad Hawat, LF MP for Jbeil and Bou Faour with Saudi officials in Paris.
Bou Faour and Riachi had already visited the kingdom in December 2021. Riyadh appears to have recently laid the groundwork for its political re-engagement with Lebanon after months of strained relations.
Saudi Ambassador to Beirut Walid Boukhari is expected to land in the capital next week.
“Saudi Arabia is not being asked [to interfere]. But it is naturally in favor of one side and not the other,” said Marwan Hamadeh, a resigned Jumblattist MP from the Chouf, when contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour.
“It is true that the LF is the first local ally of the Saudis, and that the kingdom supports those who fight for the sovereignty of Lebanon. But Riyadh has never taken steps to give concrete expression to this support,” said an LF parliamentarian who requested anonymity, in what sounded like a reproach vis-à-vis the kingdom.
Could the return of the Saudi ambassador to Beirut less than two months before the legislative elections mobilize the Sunni camp? And what about supporters of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who has announced his withdrawal from politics and his boycott of the vote?
“For the moment, the Sunni electorate does not seem to want to vote,” said Mohammad Hajjar, a Haririst MP from Chouf, adding that the Future Movement will not support any alliances or candidates.
This means that Hariri’s Future Movement party will not back an LF-PSP list, at least not officially.
Some obstacles in the way
While the LF and the PSP share the same objective, their alliance still faces some obstacles on the ground.
“The technical agreement is sealed. There are still some decisions to be made,” an MP affiliated with Joumblatt said in reference to the ongoing talks between the two parties in order to finalize the formation of electoral lists.
As was the case in 2018, the LF and the PSP will fight side by side in Joumblatt’s undisputed stronghold, namely the constituency of Mount Lebanon IV, which includes the districts of Chouf and Aley (with 13 seats distributed as follows: five Maronites, four Druze, two Sunnis, one Greek-Catholic and one Greek-Orthodox).
“As for Mount Lebanon, things are progressing, and we are moving toward the finalization of the agreement,” Bou Faour said yesterday after his meeting with Geagea.
“Coordination [with the FL] is not only for electoral purposes. It is also political on the basis of the reconciliation deal [between Druze and Christian back in August 2001 under the auspices of Nasrallah Sfeir, then Maronite Patriarch],” he said
Abou Faour added, “We are more than ever committed to this reconciliation.”
Hamadeh concurred. “It is a matter of consolidating the reconciliation front of the Mountain [Druze and Christians in the Chouf district] in the face of the projects that are opposed to it,” Hamadeh, who intends to launch a new electoral battle in the Chouf, told L’Orient-Le Jour.
“During the meeting with the LF leader, all the technical problems were settled for the battle in Chouf and Aley,” a source close to Joumblatt said on condition of anonymity.
The obstacles are centered mainly on the choice of candidates, particularly for the Greek-Catholic seat in Chouf, currently held by Nehmeh Tohmeh, who is close to Joumblatt.
Tohme decided not to seek a new parliamentary mandate, prompting the PSP to support the candidacy of Charles Arbid, president of the state-owned Economic and Social Council.
On Tuesday evening, however, Arbid tweeted he was withdrawing from the race.
“After discussions, Mr. Arbid was finally replaced by Fadi Maalouf, supported by the National Liberal Party [of Camille Dory Chamoun],” Wissam Ragi, an LF executive in charge of following up on the electoral process, told L’Orient-Le Jour.
Maalouf will be part of a list that would include Hamade and Teymour Jumblatt, current Druze deputies from the Chouf, Habbouba Aoun and Elie Cordahi, both Maronites supported by the LF, as well as Georges Adwan, MP for Geagea’s political party.
In Aley, the LF leader fielded Nazih Matta (Greek Orthodox) and Joelle Faddoul (Maronite), a former journalist from the Future TV. As for the PSP, it intends to return Akram Chehayeb to his current Druze seat.
There is another impediment in the way of the LF-PSP alliance which is that of, “some peculiarities of some areas,” Bou Faour said from Maarab.
This is especially true when it comes to the constituency of Bekaa West-Rachaya, according to a source close to Joumblatt who spoke on condition of anonymity. He recalled that the PSP already supported the candidacy of Bou Faour for a Druze seat.
But the LF continues to insist on forming its own list, even though it has no chance of winning the battle, according to the same source.
He added that there is a similar problem in Beirut II, where the PSP expected the LF to support its candidate Faysal Sayegh (Druze) in exchange for Joumblatt’s support for the Christian party's candidates, especially in Zahle and Metn.
But this would probably not be the case. Contacts are underway to solve this issue.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.
