Lebanese Forces (LF) MP Ghada Ayoub declared that the dialogue called for by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berry to unblock the presidential election “will not take place because we refuse to replace the Constitution with this practice.”
Emphasizing that the presidential election is “decisive and crucial,” she noted that “it seems as if a policy of obstruction has been imposed on us since 2005, and only one party has to make concessions to avoid a vacancy.”
In an interview with MTV, she said it was necessary for “all opposition forces to agree to vote for the candidate who can secure 65 votes and save the country.”
According to her, “the only solution to all our crises lies in electing a President of the Republic, and the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berry, must call the MPs to successive sessions.” She added that the LF “will continue to work towards the election of a sovereigntist and reformist president, who can save the country.”
Highlighting the opposition’s achievements, Ayoub pointed out that it had established a new parliamentary majority following the 2022 legislative elections and thwarted external interference aimed at imposing a president without respecting the balance of power, as well as the French initiative proposing the Sleiman Frangieh (President of the Republic)-Nawaf Salam (Prime Minister) formula.
“The opposition succeeded in ‘Lebanonizing’ the presidential election, but the policy of internal obstruction led to the intervention of the Group of Five (France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United States, and Egypt) in the matter,” asserted Ayoub.
In this context, she stated that the “Marada leader and presidential candidate Sleiman Frangieh was imposed from the outset as a defiant candidate.”
“Since the axis of the Moumanaa (Hezbollah and its allies) rejected our candidate Michel Moawad, we also have the right to reject theirs,” added the MP.
Furthermore, Ayoub reiterated her rejection for extending the term of office of Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, and for the appointment of a successor before the election of a President of the Republic.
She also insisted on the necessity to apply the Code of Money and Credit, according to which the first vice-governor assumes the functions of the governor, pending the designation of a successor.
