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As if the scene reflects a hot race with the “June deadline”, which has apparently become an overt and implicit secret word at the same time, in recent hours a picture of intense movements internally and preparations for some prominent movements externally related to upward vitality can no longer be ignored, its impact on political mobilization. and the budding diplomat. Two main axes at home occupied interests in the last hours, amid attempts to monitor what is happening to each of them, and they are the axis of the continuous movement at an unusual pace by the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, and the axis of intense meetings and contacts away from the limelight between the opposition forces amid a climate of escalating ambiguity that envelops the fate of the nomination of a president “The Marada Movement” # Suleiman Franjieh, who, although he accepted the invitation of the Saudi ambassador yesterday to the latter’s house in Yarzeh, the atmosphere of warm affection between them does not mean what the team supporting Franjieh sought to generalize, that the chance of his approaching Baabda has increased. He learned that what Franjieh heard from the ambassador is the same as what other parties heard in terms of that his country does not have any problem with anyone, as there is no support for anyone and no veto over anyone, and therefore the Lebanese must choose their president and bear responsibility for their decision, which is a conclusion that brings the battle back to the inside.
It reported information that the meeting of the Saudi ambassador and Franjieh did not change the Kingdom’s position regarding what it announced in terms of the Lebanese presidential election. The position that Buhari conveyed to those concerned on May 3 is still the same, and will not change overnight. Here, the ambassador can receive Franjieh just like any other candidate, and there is no need to invest more in the visit than you can bear.
And with Franjieh’s visit to the Saudi embassy yesterday, I almost completed the map of meetings that Ambassador Bukhari conducted. After the meeting that brought him together in the morning with Bukhari in Yarzeh, where they had breakfast together, Franjieh tweeted: “Thank you for inviting the honorable ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The meeting was cordial and excellent.”
In the afternoon, Al-Bukhari visited the “National Moderation Bloc” at its headquarters in Saifi, and the “Bloc” announced again after the meeting that it “pledges not to boycott any session to elect the President of the Republic, and we will support any candidate who adheres to the National Accord Document and the Taif Accord and maintains relations with the Arabs and the Arab Gulf.”
In the context, data emerged yesterday regarding serious preparations being made to invite the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, to Paris to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in early June, while indications are growing that Paris will reconsider its “previous” position in support of Franjieh’s candidacy. Nevertheless, Bkerki did not pass any fallacies that spoke about the deterioration of her relationship with France, so she denied this completely and stressed her adherence to the historical relations between the two parties.
-Perhaps what should be mentioned outside the presidential context is what emerged yesterday in terms of leaking news through the website of the “Free Patriotic Movement” towards the Public Prosecutor of Appeal in Mount Lebanon, Judge Ghada Aoun, to charge the Governor of the Banque du Liban Riad Salameh and his wife Nada and against Stephanie Saliba and the Bank of Lebanon and the Gulf, provided that Request the issuance of arrest warrants in absentia against them. According to the information obtained from the concerned judicial authorities, it became clear that the investigating judge did not receive any request from Judge Aoun until the end of working hours at three in the afternoon, which means that anticipating the step was by leaking the news in preparation for issuing the prosecution later.
-opposition move
On the other hand, advanced data emerged in the context of the ongoing efforts between the opposition forces to nominate Franjieh to agree on the name of one unified candidate or more, as it was reported that a meeting was held yesterday and brought together most of the opposition poles, from the “Lebanese Forces”, battalions, independent renewal and a number of changeists, for this purpose.
In parallel, it has become known that there is a channel of communication between the “forces” and the “Free Patriotic Movement”, which is handled by MPs Fadi Karam and George Atallah. Results are expected to be reached in the near future. Information indicates that there is a group of names from personalities presented in the media and other names not circulated in the media that are being circulated, with reference to the importance of moving to a positive perception and understanding on one or more presidential names and highlighting it for other parliamentary blocs. Attempts are not confined to only two groups, but include all parties of the opposition forces along with the “Free Patriotic Movement” to reach an understanding on a presidential candidate, with the sovereign parties realizing that the “rejection” axis clings to its presidential candidate and not negotiating over another candidate, but seeking to open a dialogue with others to contribute. In accepting his candidate only in the context of his search for compromises.
From this standpoint, Representative Fadi Karam stresses the completion of consultation stations with the majority of the opposition parties and with the “Free Patriotic Movement”, not only to stop the “opposition” candidate from reaching the first presidency, but also to reach an understanding on a serious candidate amid negotiations over additional names, including the opposition forces. and “the current”. It is clear that the issue does not stop at a group of the opposition, but rather it includes the “forces”, the brigades, the change-making representatives and the “national movement”, noting that the negotiations are continuing and there is no semi-tangible results until the moment.
Not far from these moves, the head of the Phalange Party, MP Sami Gemayel, met yesterday with member of the “Democratic Gathering” bloc, Representative Wael Abu Faour. But we will do the impossible, and we are all communicating with each other, and there is a continuous effort and understanding by everyone of the need to speed up access to quick results.” He stressed, “Time is not in our favor, and we are keen to elect a president of the republic as soon as possible, but we refuse to surrender, and there is a difference between keenness on election and surrendering to the status quo and the logic of obstruction, and this is what we do not accept.” He stressed, “We will do everything in our power to achieve a breakthrough in the presidential file, as we have an important entitlement, which is the appointment of the Governor of the Banque du Liban after about two months, and we refuse that this matter take place outside the constitutional principles, that is, in the absence of the President of the Republic, and we also reject the government’s exercise of powers that it does not possess, as it is a resigned government.”
