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Two MPs from the Forces of Change, namely Najat Aoun Saliba and Paula Yacoubian, announced on Tuesday, June 13, that they would cast their votes for former Minister Jihad Azour, backed by the opposition and a large parliamentary coalition, during the parliamentary electoral session scheduled for June 14.
Azour is assured of a comfortable majority, which could allow him to step to the second round of the presidential election on Wednesday, if he manages to garner the 65 votes required by the Constitution, and if a lack of quorum is not caused by Amal and Hezbollah’s MPs.
During a press conference that the two MPs held at the Parliament, Saliba said that she had engaged in a discussion with Azour “for more than five hours” through a videoconference which was also attended by MP Melhem Khalaf.
She said that she was “perfectly convinced” by the strategy that Azour intends to apply to deal with pressing challenges facing Lebanon, should he be elected as the Head of State. She gave no indication whatsoever of the voting intentions of her colleague, Khalaf.
“We decided to support Azour’s candidacy because he believes in the State and is committed to the idea of the State,” she insisted. She also noted that the candidate is determined to ensure the independence of the Justice and to establish a “clear and comprehensive strategy for resolving the Syrian refugee issue before it turns into an existential threat.”
“Azour believes in serious solutions and is capable of reintegrating Lebanon into the Arab community,” Aoun stressed, as she added that she had also asked him about the fate of bank deposits, and that he was reassuring in this regard.
The former Finance Minister, according to Aoun, “has a remarkable history of assisting over 50 countries facing challenges to regain stability and possesses a well-defined vision for a recovery project that goes beyond simplistic, number-focused solutions.“
For her part, Yacoubian condemned all speeches aimed at undermining the credibility of the MPs who emerged from the October 17, 2019 uprising. She assured that Azour “is the best possible option” today. “We have a lot of respect for former minister Ziyad Baroud, but our choice today goes for what is best, possible and realistic.”
Several MPs, including some from the Forces of Change group, have revealed that they will vote for Baroud and that they are not neither convinced by Azour, nor by former Minister Sleiman Frangieh, who is backed by the Amal-Hezbollah tandem.
Yacoubian criticized “those seeking to prolong the presidential vacancy.”
“They do not want reforms despite the fact that a constructive vote has the potential to speed up the country’s recovery process,” she said.
