Michel Murr plans Phalange, Tashnak entrants on Metn list
Bou Faour says he won”t join centrist bloc, but others can
MP Michel Murr announced Thursday that he will have candidates from both the Tashnak and Phalange parties on his list for June”s parliamentary elections, dubbing it the "Metn Christian Alliance." Following a meeting with members of the Baath Party on Thursday, Murr said, "What is most important is the interest of the Metn citizens."
Asked about his alliance with MP Michel Aoun, head of the Reform and Change bloc, Murr said: "I have a big electoral popularity and he has the same; and two candidates with a big electoral popularity cannot meet in the elections."
Asked whether he informed Reform and Change about his point of view, he said: "I did not talk to them, as they usually present their viewpoints through television stations, like [Hizbullah”s] Al-Manar."
"I heard that they left an electoral seat vacant on their list for [Defense] Minister Elias Murr (the MP”s son) – one seat out of eight," he added.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry issued a statement on Thursday, saying that copies of preliminary voter lists had been delivered to regional governors, who, in turn, will send them to municipalities.
The statement added that it was the first time that voter lists had been delivered before February 10, as stipulated in Article 33 of the parliamentary elections law. In this context, Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud will hold a news conference on Tuesday to present the mechanism that was adopted to prepare the lists, the statement said.
Separately, LBC said Thursday that President Michel Sleiman would start mediation between Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Speaker Nabih Berri regarding funding for the Council of the South, a source of considerable controversy this week.
On a different level, former President Amin Gemayel met Thursday with Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican.
A statement issued afterward said that the pontiff expressed his "full support of the free Christian presence in the Orient in general and particularly in Lebanon." He also "stressed the important role played by Lebanon."
Gemayel also met Thursday with Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa, who expressed his country”s readiness to "support Lebanon and consolidate its security and stability."
Meanwhile, Lebanese Forces boss Samir Geagea met Thursday with Minister of State Wael Bou Faour, who said after the meeting that he would not join a centrist bloc for the elections, as he was a member of the March 14 Forces.
"However," the minister added, "I cannot deny the right of any political force to nominate its candidate."
Also on Thursday, Siniora attended a ceremony to launch construction of the House of Culture and Arts, which is being funded by the Sultanate of Oman. The Gulf country”s culture minister, Ahmed bin Abdel Nabi Makki, was also on hand for the event.
Siniora thanked the sultanate for its contribution and stressed "the positive role of Solidere [the company responsible for reconstructing Downtown Beirut] in this project."
Meanwhile, the commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), General Jean Kahwaji, attended Thursday”s opening of a new building for the Military Club in Beirut”s Manara district.
In a speech delivered on the occasion, Kahwaji hailed the efforts made by the Lebanese Army to defend the country and preserve its security, stressing the need to promote the humanitarian and social conditions of those serving in the military.