NLP Calls on Cabinet to Approve Carter’s Request to Monitor Elections
The National Liberal Party said that it supported former US President Jimmy Carter’s proposal to send observers to monitor the 2009 elections, and called on the cabinet to not only approve Carter’s request, but to also work with the non-governmental organizations and institutions to ensure the presence of neutral experts. The party said neutral experts were particularly important because the elections for the first time would be held in a single day and thus required additional logistical capabilities and monitoring tools.
In a statement issued after the party’s weekly meeting on Friday, the NLP said that Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun had proved that he was part of the Iranian-Syrian axis. The party added that the interests of those who voted for Aoun in 2005 lay in “neutralizing” Lebanon from regional conflicts, supporting the Taif Accord and improving it.
The statement also said that claiming that Aoun offered the Lebanese people a gift by affirming that Syria would not return to Lebanon was irrelevant because everyone knew that regional and international factors were the real reason Syria could not return.
The party added that in 2009 the Lebanese people would choose between strengthening state authority or supporting states with the state and weapons outside legitimate military institutions.