Druze leader Walid Jumblatt announced his resignation as head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) on Thursday, May 25, a month before the party’s general congress is set to convene to elect a new leadership.
MP Marwan Hamade, member of the Democratic Gathering Bloc led by Jumblat’s son, Taymur Jumblatt, said the congress will be held on June 25, “and it is customary for party leader to step down a month prior to allow party members to submit their candidatures.”
“The timing of the announcement coincided with the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon but it has nothing to do with ‘Liberation Day’, the presidential election, or any other date… It is merely an internal affair,” Hamade told This is Beirut.
Asked if Taymur will take over the leadership from his father, Hamade said, “I cannot predict the outcome of the election, but I know that Walid Jumblatt will not designate a successor.”
Simultaneously, a source close to Jumblatt stressed that his resignation is part of a regular procedure that occurs every four years.
The source added that the election of a new leadership was supposed to take place last year but was postponed due to the parliamentary elections.
Jumblatt’s resignation “paves the way for individuals aspiring to announce their candidacy for the party presidency, the secretariat general and other leadership posts,” ahead of the congress scheduled for June 25.