Hariri Announces Beirut 3 List on Thursday, Beirut 1 Dilemma Solved?
Al-Mustaqbal movement leader Saad Hariri will announce the Beirut 3 district”s electoral list on Wednesday after agreement was reached with Jamaa Islamiya to include its candidate Imad Hout in the ticket.
Hariri”s announcement of the list at a major Beirut rally coincides with the first anniversary of the May 7 events when Hizbullah gunmen entered mainly Sunni parts of west Beirut.
Last year”s deadly sectarian clashes in Beirut and other areas brought Lebanon close to civil war.
Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat quoted informed sources as saying that Hariri”s speech will not tackle the May 7 clashes much. It will focus on the economic situation, the elections and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
The sources said the Mustaqbal movement leader will reiterate that he accepts the decisions of the court that will try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri”s suspected assassins.
On Wednesday, Hariri underlined the significance of the June 7 elections saying the outcome will "determine the future of politics in Lebanon for a long period of time."
At another front, Hariri met with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea Tuesday night. Discussions focused on the problem of the Beirut 1 Armenian Catholic seat.
Informed sources said that Geagea agreed to withdraw the LF”s candidate, Richard Kouyoumjian, in favor of Serge Tor Sarkissian, who will later join a Christian bloc led by LF and independent MPs.
MP Ammar Houry told Voice of Lebanon radio on Thursday that Beirut 1 district”s Armenian seat problem will soon be solved and will come in favor of Tor Sarkissian.