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French presidential envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian is scheduled to arrive in Beirut on Tuesday to kickstart a new phase of the process aimed at opening the way for the election of a president of the Republic.
According to a Western diplomatic source, Le Drian’s visit, the first in more than five months, comes after two obstacles that were standing in the way of moving forward on the presidential issue have been largely settled.
“A few months ago, there was no reason for Le Drian to return. But today he’s back as part of the Quintet’s efforts. We’re making progress on the multi-round electoral session, and we know that there will be some sort of prior consultations,” the source told This is Beirut.
“We can say that the main issues are being settled in one way or another, as such we will be moving to another stage with the (Le Drian’s) visit,” the source said, adding that the various political forces have given guarantees for ensuring a quorum for the electoral session.
The next stage in the process leading to ending the long-protracted vacancy at the top post involves the definition of the profile and political program of the future head of state. The former French foreign minister had asked in the summer of 2023 the various parliamentary blocs to outline the criteria, profile and agenda for the presidential hopeful.
“Le Drian is coming here precisely for this new stage in the process of helping the Lebanese achieve the election,” he said.
Commenting on media reports about a potential Doha 2 conference, similar to the one held in 2008 which led to the election of former president Michel Sleiman, the source stressed that the international community “is not in that logic” of “sharing the cake.”
“Our logic is very clear: the first step is the election of a president, the second is a prime minister, and the third is a comprehensive structural reform plan for the economy, public administration, and the whole situation in Lebanon.”
The source underlined that “it will be up to the Lebanese to propose the names of candidates,” whereas, Le Drian and the ambassadors of the five-nation Quintet (France, the US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Egypt) will be focusing on the aspired president’s profile and agenda for the next few years.
Le Drian will be paying a short visit to Lebanon during which he will meet Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and members of the National Moderation Bloc whose initiative for the presidential election is aligned with the Quintet’s efforts.
