Aoun “not in a hurry” to nail down electoral alliances
Lawmakers from the Liberation and Development, Reform and Change, and Loyalty to the Resistance blocs gathered in Rabieh on Monday to discuss issues related to the June 7 parliamentary elections. The Amal, Hizbullah and Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) lawmakers, who met at the residence of FPM leader MP Michel Aoun in Rabieh, did not issue a statement after their talks.
However, speaking following the Reform and Change bloc”s weekly meeting, Aoun said his party would hold off on announcing candidates for the upcoming legislative elections until the rest of the nominations have emerged.
"At the moment, we will not be announcing what has been agreed on," Aoun told reporters.
"We will wait until nominations have crystallized for the rest of the parties before announcing our candidates," he added. "We are not in a hurry."
He conceded that the opposition was "not in complete agreement over all issues" related to the elections, but dismissed reports of a major rift.
"We do not have a unified electoral platform … but we will soon resolve the remaining loose ends," Aoun said, describing any disagreements as mere "technical problems."
Aoun also denied reports of a row with Speaker Nabih Berri, saying: "Berri and I did not shoot each other. Did any of you hear Berri speak of encountering problems with us?"
Asked whether contacting MP Michel Murr was a possibility, Aoun said he "has not given the issue much thought." But he pointed to ongoing deliberations between Murr and the Tashnak, an FPM ally in the last election.
The Tashnak will "soon give its answer on the possibility of forming dual alliances," Aoun said. He also hinted at the possibility of forming a coalition with the Syrian Social Nationalist Party in the Metn.
In other developments, a Cabinet session will be held on Thursday at the Baabda Palace, with 85 items on its agenda. The controversial issues of the national budget and administrative appointments were not included on the agenda, which was circulated by the Cabinet”s secretariat general.
The Cabinet”s 2009 annual budget has yet to be released due to differences between Berri and Siniora over funding for the Council of the South.
Siniora announced on Friday that a "surprise" was awaiting the Lebanese regarding the national budget.
In other election-related news, media reports on Monday said Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt decided to leave the Druze seat in Aley vacant to pave the way for his rival Minister Talal Arslan to make it to the Parliament.
According to As-Safir newspaper on Monday, Jumblatt said his decision to leave the Aley seat vacant was aimed at "maintaining unity in the Chouf and safeguarding a Druze-Druze agreement reached on May 11 following the bloody events of May 7."
Regarding the Chouf constituency, Jumblatt told the daily Al-Liwa that he had decided after consultations with allies in the March 14 Forces to name Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan "to preserve the [parliamentary] majority”s unity in the election battle."
The sate-run National News Agency (NNA) reported on Monday that Berri called Jumblatt on Monday to "congratulate him on his decision" regarding the elections in the Chouf.
According to the NNA, Berri said that Jumblatt”s statements promoted "an atmosphere of accord and national unity." He also thanked the PSP leader for "putting Lebanon”s interests above all other ambitions."
Berri had met on Monday with Minister of Works and Public Transport Ghazi Aridi and former Premier Najib Mikati.
Jumblatt on Monday criticized the holding of the Arab Interior Ministers conference in Beirut. In comments to be published in Al-Anbaa newspaper on Tuesday, Jumblatt said: "With all due respect to the important role assumed by the Arab interior ministers in preserving security and public safety, perhaps their own safety and the nerves of Lebanese would have required them to hold their meeting outside the capital and spare the people huge traffic due to the tight security measures adopted for the meeting."
Separately, Tashnak leader Hovig Mekhitarian announced on Monday that his party had taken its final decision regarding its alliances in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
In remarks to the Central News Agency, Mekhitarian said the party”s position "will be announced after officially informing MP Saad Hariri" of their stance after his return to Lebanon.
Mekhitarian told As-Safir daily in remarks published Monday that his last meeting with Phalange Party”s central committee coordinator, Sami Gemayel, did not reach any result, adding that he didn”t expect to reach an understanding with the party given the current political and electoral circumstances.
The Phalange offered a "certain cooperation proposal but … we can say that there is nothing serious," Mekhitarian said.
"With all my respect to Sheikh Sami Gemayel, the possibility of understanding requires dialogue on a higher level, particularly with [former] President Amin Gemayel," the head of the Armenian party told As-Safir. He added that he was ready to meet with Gemayel if the latter wanted to visit him.
As-Safir also quoted Sami Gemayel as saying that he does "not understand what prevents the Tashnak from having a good political relationship with the Phalange."
In other developments, Deputy Prime Minister Issam Abu Jamra said that he would not be attending any Cabinet meetings presided over by Siniora in the foreseeable future, until he is given an office in the Cabinet.
Abu Jamra told the Kuwaiti daily newspaper As-Siyassah in comments published on Monday that, until he is given an office in the Grand Serail, he "will not attend any Cabinet meetings which are under the leadership of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora."
Regarding his candidacy in Beirut”s first district, the FPM official described himself as "symbol" of the Achrafieh neighborhood, adding that he enjoyed wide popular support.
Abu Jamra also criticized Democratic Gathering MP Marwan Hamadeh”s recent comments that FPM leader Michel Aoun would be "forbidden from entering Achrafieh," and said that the people of that area would make their own choices in the elections.
In other news on Monday, sources quoted by the Central News Agency said that former MP Fares Soueid was expected to call for a meeting for the March 14 Forces in the Jbeil and Kesrouan regions in the coming hours.
According to the sources, the meeting would be held on Sunday in Jbeil and would discuss electoral issues.
Meanwhile, Future Movement leader, MP Saad Hariri arrived in London on Monday on a three-day visit and is expected to meet with several British officials, including Foreign Minister David Miliband.