Friday is the election day for a new president for Lebanon
Lebanon”s anti-Syrian parliament majority coalition lawmakers will go to parliament on Friday for a scheduled session to elect a new president, a majority MP said on Thursday.
“We will go to parliament to affirm the constitutional right of electing a president for the republic as a parliamentary majority and to preserve the constitution and (state) institutions that are subjected to extensive breaches,” MP Wael Abu Faour told Reuters.
Another MP from the anti-Syrian ruling coalition made a last-minute appeal to lawmakers to turn up for the crucial vote.
The Forces of March 14 ruling coalition “invites all lawmakers to take part in the session to elect a new head of state,” MP Elie Aoun said at a press conference aired on television.
If the parliament fails to elect a new president to replace the pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud, then the presidential powers pass to the government, in line with Article 62 of the Lebanese constitution.
The ruling coalition, which has 68 deputies in the 127-member parliament, had previously vowed to proceed with a simple majority vote but there were fears that option could spark unrest, according to political officials.
The opposition, backed by Syria and Iran, for its part has threatened to set up a parallel government, a grim reminder of the end of the 1975-1990 civil war when two administrations battled it out.
But if the parliament majority does not take any action on Friday i.e. elect a new president , this could spell the end of its role as a parliament majority because its credibility is on the line.
According to Political analyst Sami Haddad, March 14 alliance has to prove on Friday that it is serious about electing a president based on a simple majority. “After all this is perfectly normal in any normal democracy” he said and added: ” Time for the parliament majority to assume its responsibility in leading the nation and not worry about the Hezbollah led opposition. The opposition has failed in achieving any gains despite their resignation from the government and the protests in downtown Beirut and there is no reason for them to do any better once a president is elected. The new president could tell the Hezbollah and its allies Pack up or else. Syria and Iran may be behind Hezbollah , but the whole world is behind the majority alliance , so the new president has nothing to fear, but fear itself.”
Haddad added: “What is strange about Lebanon politics is that the losers ( opposition ) are acting as the winners and are trying to dictate the future of the country , while the winners ( parliament majority ) are bending in all directions to accommodate the losers. There comes a time when one should say enough bending and time for action and the time is now !