Farhat Withdraws from Elections
MP Abdullah Farhat declared Tuesday his withdrawal from the electoral race for the Maronite seat in the Baabda district.
"My battle was not electoral but political," Farhat said during a press conference at his home in Hammana.
"I did not depend on collecting votes through visits, concerts and donations, rather on political speech and intellectual discourse," he added.
He said Lebanon was gearing up for "a great national event and we cannot stand outside of the equation or simply be a negative force."
"We will not abandon our friendships, principles and patriotism," he added.
"We believe in Lebanon”s independence, sovereignty and freedom above all else. They are the founding principles of the independence uprising that we are part of," Farhat said.
"We expressed our opinion boldly on many proposals, and had reservations on others, while preserving our freedom of thought," he pointed out.
Farhat concluded that "the families and people of this proud mountain provide a lesson in patriotism and support for anyone who embraces justice, freedom, sovereignty and stability of Lebanon as a political principle."