The head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) Gebran Bassil is expected to issue a decision excluding MP Alain Aoun from the party without referring him to the ‘Council of Sages’, according to MTV.
Aoun, who is the nephew of FPM founder and former President, Michel Aoun, was Bassil’s rival in the elections to the party’s presidency in 2014.
According to MTV, prior to the announcement of this decision, efforts led to a meeting between Bassil and Aoun, which was held at the end of July. Both men reportedly discussed points of disagreement and reviewed the past period that led to their estrangement.
The meeting, which was the first in months, ended negatively.
According to a source within the party quoted by MTV, Bassil consistently requests that CPL MPs make a commitment to his own person rather than to the party.
Bassil is said to monopolize decision-making, accusing anyone with a different opinion of treason, according to the same source.
These dissensions within the FPM are not new and have already prompted a number of concerns about the party’s future.
