A deputy in the “forces” considers i’tikaf (the worst option)
The political forces are apprehensive about the low turnout in the upcoming parliamentary elections, which prompted them to call on voters to turn out massively for the polls on May 15th, in parallel with logistical and political preparations and international support for the supervision of the elections.
In preparation for the arrival of European observers, a delegation of observers and technicians in the European Union delegation met with the Election Supervision Authority, with the aim of implementing the administrative agreement concluded between the Election Supervision Authority and the European Union, an agreement related to the arrival of observers to accompany the upcoming parliamentary elections in May 2022. In the work of these observers and experts charged with supervising the parliamentary elections and facilitating their task.
In conjunction with those preparations, the calls of the political forces for the Lebanese electorate rose to vote heavily in the upcoming elections, amid fears of a popular boycott of the elections in light of the worsening living and economic crises, and the state’s inability to meet the people’s demands, most notably the electricity cuts and the high exchange rate of the dollar.
The results of the polls published by the statistics centers indicate that the indicators of enthusiasm for voting are not high, and that the most prominent voice is the “no vote” in the upcoming elections.
The political forces raised their calls for the Lebanese to participate massively in the elections, with the aim of achieving a change that they aspire to, after repeated and prominent calls from clerics, such as the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rai, the Grand Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian, and prominent political figures.
The candidate on the “Baabda Sovereignty and Decision” list, Lebanese Forces MP Pierre Bou Assi, hoped that the turnout in Baabda constituency would reach one hundred percent, after it was recorded in the previous session, at fifty percent. This circumstance,” he added, “The goal of these elections is to recover Lebanon and its true identity.”
In a related context, a member of the Democratic Gathering, MP Wael Abu Faour, confirmed that “the battle is big, the targeting is big, and the war is almost universal against the Progressive Socialist Party at the public and private levels, and we are confident that the people of Rashaya and the Western Bekaa have understood the challenge, and we understand the challenge.” ».
He said: “We are confident that there is a wide spectrum of people from the western Bekaa and Rashaya, from all groups and all sects, who will respond to this challenge.”
Abu Faour said that the “Progressive Socialist Party” is in the targeting circle, and the evidence is: “the list that was announced, which includes all the components of (the eighth of March).” He pointed out that “the goal is to re-forge the political identity of the Rashaya region, re-eradicate its political identity, and return the Rashaya region to what was before 2005.”
On the other hand, a member of the “Liberation and Development” bloc, MP Ali Khreis, called for “a massive turnout for the polls in the elections,” considering that “this benefit is not similar to the previous ones, and it must be a referendum process to prove through it the commitment to the principles of the (Amal) movement.” While the head of the Women and Child Committee, Representative Enaya Ezz El-Din, said in a political meeting, that “we must go to the polls extensively to express our political commitment, adhere to everything that has been accomplished, and establish the project of a just state, with all the specifications of an advanced, impregnable state.”
Invitations are withdrawn from the political forces to the opponents, who believe that the increased turnout at the ballot boxes will give better indications of the mood of the Lebanese people, and open up opportunities to achieve breakthroughs in the next parliament.
The turnout in the last elections in 2018, reached 49.2 percent in all of Lebanon, with the highest being recorded in Jbeil, Kesrouan and the northern Bekaa, while the lowest was recorded in Beirut 1 and Tripoli.
While the Lebanese bet on a change after the October 17 (October) 2019 movement, and the discourse shifted towards reform in the Lebanese reality, the level of political rivalry is rising on the eve of the discourses between the competing forces. “It is not permissible to reduce the Shiites of Lebanon to the phenomenon of (Hezbollah), which is no more than forty years old, while the Shiite community in Lebanon is more than a thousand years old,” pointing out that the party’s policy that led to the isolation Lebanon, about its surroundings, “is the biggest contributor to the socio-economic catastrophe we are experiencing.”
On the other hand, the head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, Hashem Safi al-Din, said that “experiences have proven that no one can rule Lebanon alone.” He said: “I advise some of our partners in the country not to exaggerate the racist, sectarian, sectarian and regional incitement against the party; Because they themselves know that they are not honest, they do not lie to their followers for the sake of an electoral vote.”
In turn, the head of the independence movement, candidate MP Michel Moawad, stressed: “We want to get our money back, we want to rebuild our middle class, we want development and dignity, we want to build a future, and we want success in Lebanon.” Pointing out that “this battle is a battle to regain our identity, and a battle for existence in the face of (Hezbollah’s) weapon that does not resemble us.”
The head of the Democratic Gathering, MP Taymour Jumblatt, attacked the President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, astonishing that “the first official who swore an oath to protect the constitution and preserve institutions, instead continues to create justifications at times and various insinuations at times to escape from the painful reality in which this covenant plunged Lebanon, This includes the allusion to the distortion of the electoral process, which constitutes an essential station on the way to fortifying the state and restoring its sovereignty.”
MP Jumblatt stressed that “people are waiting for the elections to determine their choice of which country they want, and it is an opportunity to hold accountable those who led their country towards hell and destroyed its institutions.” In front of several popular delegations that visited Al-Mukhtara Palace as part of Saturday’s receptions, Jumblatt called “the youth in particular to participate in the upcoming elections and decision-making, to reach the desired change.”