Minister Marwan Hamadeh rules out the election of a president on Saturday
Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh said that US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch came to Lebanon on an evaluation visit after the state donor conference in Paris. Welch issued a statement on the situation in Lebanon on the sidelines of the conference.
“We didn’t ask Welch about any practical measures, nor did he suggest any,” Hamadeh said. “Syria’s stance over the presidential elections and the election of a new president on Saturday is not promising,” he added.
Hamadeh told NOW Lebanon he hopes that the calls for a presidential session will not turn into a theatrical trend.
“The US administration, our European friends and Arab brethren will closely follow up on the situation in Lebanon regarding holding presidential elections as soon as possible. They are making efforts and insisting on ending the vacuum in Lebanon,” Hamadeh said.
He also denied talk about the aim of Welch’s visit being to consolidate March 14, referring to the absence of some March 14 MPs from Monday’s session.
“The Lebanese Forces sent one of its MPs to observe the situation. Had constitutional procedures been taken, all LF MPs would have been present to elect General Sleiman, as Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said,” Hamadeh noted.
“We were all there, for the ninth time, gathered in the main hall of the parliament and waiting for our colleagues, who were dispersed in the hallways, waiting for the green light, which came conditioned by unacceptable terms,” he added.
Commenting on MP Michel Aoun’s call to take a long vacation, Hamadeh said he preferred to take the present opportunity to elect a president. “Aoun’s call is only aimed at delaying a solution,” he declared.
Hamadeh said that after last Monday’s presidential session, March 14 conducted consultations and reached a decision over the steps to be taken if a president is not elected before the end of the parliament general session by the end of this year.
“These steps will be made public before the end of this year,” he added.