Bukhari from Maarab: 'Presidential election is an internal and sovereign matter'

BEIRUT — "The presidential election is an internal and sovereign matter that belongs to the Lebanese," said Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari on Wednesday after meeting the head of the Lebanese Forces — Saudi Arabia's Christian ally — at the party's headquarters in Maarab.

According to a statement issued by the Lebanese Forces, party leader Samir Geagea and Bukhari discussed "political developments in the country, including the presidential election."

Earlier Wednesday, the Saudi diplomat met with religious and political figures where he said he insisted "on the need to accelerate the election of a president," for crisis-hit Lebanon.

"Saudi Arabia's position is clear on the presidential election: for the kingdom, it is a sovereign Lebanese matter. It is up to the Lebanese to decide on their future head of state," Bukhari told local news channel Al-Jadeed. "Saudi Arabia stands by the Lebanese people in its decisions."

Earlier in the afternoon, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri received Bukhari in Ain al-Tineh.

The kingdom "insists on the need to accelerate the election of a head of state capable of implementing what the Lebanese people aspire," Bukhari said after the meeting.

"We do not accept the prolonged presidential vacancy that threatens the stability and unity of the Lebanese people."

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Earlier on Wednesday morning, Bukhari also met with Grand Mufti Abdellatif Deriane, the highest Sunni authority in Lebanon. The two discussed "the latest developments on the local scene, including the need to hold the presidential election, as well as other issues that are of common interest," Bukhari wrote in a tweet.

Berri maintains support for Frangieh

Lebanon is experiencing its first executive double vacancy, without a president and with only a caretaker government.

Hezbollah and the Amal Movement recently announced their official support for the presidential candidacy of Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh, but the opposition camp remains divided.

Many observers believe France is promoting a tradeoff between the election of Frangieh and the appointment of Nawaf Salam — former Lebanese ambassador to the UN and current judge at the International Court of Justice — as prime minister.

Paris has denied this claim, saying it "does not have a candidate in Lebanon." According to some observers, Saudi Arabia is opposed to Frangieh's candidacy.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said he believes that Paris does not oppose Frangieh's ascension to the presidency.

The French "clearly told him that the information that came from [Saudi] Arabia is positive," Berri said last week. His words were condemned by the Lebanese Forces (LF), which say "local political data and information reported by several Western diplomatic sources contradict" Berri's statement.

In an interview with the daily al-Joumhouriya published Wednesday, Berri rebutted the LF's response: "Denial will not change the facts," he said, noting that "neither the French nor the Saudis have denied [his words]."

Samir Geagea "refuses dialogue and the efforts to reach a presidential compromise," added Berri. The Parliament speaker said he continues to support the candidacy of Frangieh and does "not have a plan B."

He also said he will "wait until there are one or two serious candidates in the other camp before calling for a [new] election session."

The LF responded to Berri in a statement: "If Nabih Berri's words are true, why did his wishes not translate into the ballot box?"

"How can Samir Geagea accept a dialogue when the one who is calling for it has admitted that he only accepts plan A, i.e. the candidacy of Sleiman Frangieh?" the statement continued. "The fact that the Moumanaa [pro-Hezbollah] axis in Lebanon holds to the equation 'our candidate or chaos' has not changed the external or internal input. The vacancy persists because of this equation." 

Bou Saab's tour 

Last week, Parliament Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab started a tour to visit the main political parties in an attempt to break the presidential deadlock.

After meeting with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai as well as MPs from Hezbollah and the Renewal parliamentary group — led by presidential candidate Michel Moawad — he was received Wednesday by the Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel.

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"We do not expect a solution from outside," Bou Saab said. "The initiative I launched is to build bridges of dialogue and not to propose a particular candidate."

"Nobody asked me to do this," he added, saying that "the time factor is important."

Gemayel said he was "open to any solution that will allow us to move to a new stage based on the sovereignty of the state and the freedom of national decision-making."

"If Sleiman Frangieh decides to reposition himself at equal distance from the political parties ... we have no problem supporting him. But the head of the Marada is clear in his policy and convinced of his choices," added the head of the Kataeb Party.

During their weekly meeting on Wednesday, the Maronite bishops called on MPs to "take advantage of the positive regional and international indicators regarding the possibility of electing a new president."