Hezbollah MP Mohammad Raad during a speech commemorating the 'martyrs of the Resistance,' in Qulaila, South Lebanon. (Courtesy of Muntasser Abdallah)
BEIRUT — Head of Hezbollah's Parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad, Saturday criticized what he called "defiance in electing a president" of the Republic, as Lebanon grapples with a presidential vacancy since Oct. 31, when Michel Aoun's term ended. He then called for an "agreement" regarding this election.
During a speech, delivered on the occasion of the commemoration of the "martyrs of the Resistance," in Qulaila, South Lebanon, Raad said that “resorting to defiance in electing a president weakens the general national position.”
Raad affirmed that “we proposed to all the Lebanese an agreement on a president who is suitable for this stage in the country, and we refused to have any candidate who challenges any one or party, especially since the country cannot bear this at this stage.”
Raad said that Hezbollah “did not disclose” their candidate yet but that the party has someone whom they want to be president of the republic, “and we want to propose him and convince others of him."
Raad said the party wants a president who is “open to everyone, who can talk to everyone, and who does not have a prior veto from others, and this is what we are working for, but how can we agree on a president that the enemy wants and does not want anyone else in order to use him to implement his instructions.”
Since September, 11 parliamentary sessions have been held to elect a new president, all without success due to the lack of political consensus among the different parties. Each parliamentary session is adjourned after a first round of voting, when MPs from Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) have departed the chamber, causing a loss of the quorum — 86 of 128 MPs — that House Speaker Nabih Berri requires for the selection of a new executive. In the last 11 sessions, Hezbollah and most of its allies have cast blank ballots.
Recently, Hezbollah has clearly supported the candidacy of its Christian ally Sleiman Frangieh, leader of the Marada Movement. This support has caused tensions between Hezbollah and its other major Christian ally, FPM leader Gebran Bassil, who is considered an unofficial candidate for the presidency.
Hezbollah secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, Thursday called for an "internal agreement" to facilitate the election of a new head of state, but said there is "nothing new" to report in this regard. The country has been without a president since Oct. 31. A meeting of Western and Arab powers was held in Paris Feb. 6 to discuss Lebanon's political impasse.
"We continue to say that … the whole world cannot impose a president on Lebanon," Nasrallah said. "There must be an internal agreement and the efforts must continue."