Sanctions loom over Lebanon as presidential elections remain stalled

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2023-05-15 | 03:03
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Sanctions loom over Lebanon as presidential elections remain stalled
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Sanctions loom over Lebanon as presidential elections remain stalled

When Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's call on the tenth of this month came down to "the necessity of completing the presidential elections, as a maximum of next June 15," the matter seemed out of the context adopted by the Speaker of Parliament in recent weeks, when he rushed to market the candidacy of the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Frangieh.  

But Berri suddenly moved to the middle of the following month without introduction and without explaining why he adopted this particular date. 

This article was originally published in and translated from Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan. 

Nidaa al-Watan learned that there is serious information about external sanctions that were contemplated to impose on those obstructing the presidential elections for more than seven months and then on those obstructing the formation of a government after the election. 

The "features" of these sanctions began to become clear last April 26, through the letter sent by the Chairman of the US  Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Robert Menendez, and a prominent member of the committee, James Risch, in a special message to US President Joe Biden about the situation in Lebanon and the policy followed towards the Lebanese crisis. 

The message included, for the first time at the American level, a reference to Speaker Berri's negative stance on the presidential election when he said in the letter: "We are still frustrated with the ongoing political stalemate, which Hezbollah and its allies, such as Nabih Berri, designed to weaken the opposition in the face of his preferred candidate at the expense of candidates who enjoy broader support and are more prepared to face Lebanon's many challenges."
 
Regarding the date of June 15, it will be an opportunity for the Parliament to decide the fate of two candidates who are practically leading the race: the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Frangieh, and the opposition candidate, Jihad Azour.  

Either one of them wins the race, or they leave the "circuit" together, which clears the way for moving to a third option. 

It seemed that Qatar played, and continues to play, an active role in terms of threatening sanctions and pressing to remove obstacles in the way of achieving the presidential elections.  

The Qatari delegation led by Jassim Al-Thani, whose membership includes five members, will return to Lebanon after the Arab Summit scheduled to occur in Saudi Arabia on the 19th of this month.  

It was learned that the delegation, during its recent visit to Lebanon, gave the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, an offer that the latter accepted and required that Doha carry out all procedures in the United States, especially proceeding with the lawsuit there to "whitewash" Bassil's record, after the sanctions issued by the US Treasury Department at the end of 2020 under the anti-Corruption Magnitsky Act.  

Doha initiated the lawsuit procedures, while Bassil responded to the Qatari delegation by softening his position on the nomination of the Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, for the presidency. 
  
In a related context, information indicates that the French side is currently in a state of disappointment as a result of its failure to achieve success in completing the election after the mandate it received from the five-party committee when it was launched in the French capital, a few months ago, which led to the withdrawal of this mandate, which the US practically declared with the support of Riyadh. 

The result was that the French role became in a state of weightlessness. This coincided with Qatar's rush to fill the vacuum, which generated and still is French discontent with Doha.  

The meeting of Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi comes as an invitation to visit Paris early next month to perpetuate the "descent" of the Elysee team, which promotes Suleiman Frangieh, and France's assertion that it is not in the process of breaking the will of the Christians by imposing a candidate of the "resistance." 

In addition, it was decided to postpone the meeting of the five-party committee, which was expected this month in Qatar, to next month, at a Saudi request, after consultations with Doha, which means that there is currently a focus on the Arab Summit that Jeddah will host next Friday.
 

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Suleiman Frangieh

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