https://www.facebook.com/lebanese.forces.official.page/videos/10156609033665312/
The new parliament’s term has officially begun and it is expected that these coming four years will present numerous entitlements and positions. Yet, if the election of a house speaker and the deputy house speaker of parliament were a done deal, then the nomination of Anis Nassar for deputy speaker added to the democracy of the process on the one hand and hindered the possibility of a win by default on the other — for some powers would nominate a candidate just a few hours before the elections as a certain disregard for democratic principles and ethics.
With regards to the few days preceding the election day, it was agreed, between the Lebanese Forces and Speaker Nabih Berri, that the council will remain as it was before — meaning that deputy Fadi Saad will become secretary in Antoine Zahra’s place. Prime Minister Saad Hariri informed Dr. Samir Geagea of President Michel Aoun’s approval on the matter — thus, everything was going well until the sudden nomination of deputy Alain Aoun, yesterday, for the position of secretary.
What truly happened was that Minister Gebran Bassil had made a deal with Berri to trade a large number of votes from his bloc for the exclusion of the Lebanese Forces from the secretariat. This event placed Harriri in an awkward situation between the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement, and it lead to the withdrawal of deputy Fadi Saab’s nomination.
These are the facts, but on a deeper level, there is an evident attempt to exclude the Lebanese Forces from the scene, after it had showed how the Lebanese people support it and are against Bassil’s politics. Therefore, he tried with all his power to exclude deputy Anis Nassar from the deputy position and to exclude deputy Fadi Saad from the position of secretary of parliament.
What was presented is a clear indicator of Minister Bassil’s discontent with the outcomes of the elections which is the reason behind his political interference from the inside of parliament — following his recent rumor and false-accusation campaign to which the Lebanese Forces replied and clarified the misinformation and lies.
In all cases, every entitlement further exemplifies the Lebanese Forces’ patriotism as opposed to the business-like behavior of others who act as if there is no accountability — Thus, allowing Minister Bassil to engage in name-calling and accusations that nearly started a war, and then to make deals that compliment his personal interests and goals.
The elections clearly showed the substantial size of the Lebanese Forces in parliament, and the Party’s widespread support throughout Lebanon. However, it seems that there are some who will try to besiege the Lebanese Forces using methods it has gotten accustomed to, ever since its birth. Yet, some people are unaware that they cannot besiege the people’s opinion, that the old phase has passed, and that the political confrontation will go on to turn the people’s votes into patriotic actions which put an end to the traders, brokers, and heretics.