Aoun receives Raad: 'Addressing divisions while preserving national interest'

President Joseph Aoun received on Thursday the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, Mohammad Raad, at the Baabda Presidential Palace. According to a brief official statement published on the Lebanese presidency's X account, the two men discussed "several national issues and deadlines ... and agreed to address divisions with the aim of preserving the higher national interest."

This visit by Raad is his first to Baabda since the Raouche incident, which took place on Sept. 25. On that day, thousands of Hezbollah supporters defied a decision by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud by blocking the road at Raouche, along the Beirut corniche and projecting onto the rock images of the party's two former secretary generals, Hassan Nasrallah and Hachem Safieddine.

The Hezbollah demonstration was interpreted, especially by critics of the party, as an attempt to challenge the authority of the Lebanese state at a time when the fate of its weapons has been the subject of a government decision since August.

Additionally, the word "deadlines" in the official statement is believed to refer to the issue of expatriate voting: While the current law allocates six parliamentary seats for expatriates, in addition to the existing 128, a widespread opposition is calling for them to vote for the 128 according to their place of origin in Lebanon in the upcoming May elections. This option is not favored by Hezbollah nor by its ally, Amal Movement leader and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. The disagreement over this issue disrupted the parliamentary quorum this week.