What resembles a "holy war" is currently being waged by the Shiite duo, led by Hezbollah, against the crossroads presidential candidate, Jihad Azour.
The resistance team has mobilized all its forces as support for this candidate grows.
This support indicated that the 12th session on the 14th of this month might witness Azour receiving 65 votes or more, a victory that cannot be surpassed, whether in obstructing the quorum of the first or second session.
This article was originally published in, translated from Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan.
This as sources told "Nidaa al-Watan" that the tense and charged atmosphere between Bkerke and Ain Tineh last week has dissipated after Berri scheduled a session on June 14th.
Patriarch Bechara Rai will send Bishops Paul Abdel Sater and Maroun Ammar to Ain Tineh tomorrow, Friday.
The patriarch's envoys will ask Berri to call for consecutive and swift sessions if the upcoming session fails and not settle for just one session.
They hope to avoid obstructing the quorum in the second round, as it happened previously, and resort to the electoral game.
It is worth noting that Bkerke and the Christian components accept this scenario, while the patriarchate wished for respect for Christian consensus, which was achieved for Azour after the other team, led by Berri, was blamed for the vacancy of Christian forces, which were not in agreement on a candidate.
Therefore, despite the appearance of the Shiite duo as challengers to Christian will, Bkerke insists on continuing internal dialogue, nationalizing the process, and completing it as soon as possible.
Despite the "confidence" displayed by Berri, stating that the team supporting his candidate Sleiman Frangieh will directly vote for Frangieh and not submit blank ballots as they did in the previous 11 sessions, the Shiite duo has chosen, before reaching the threshold of 65 votes, to embark on what resembles a "greater jihad."
This includes various forms of pressure, as stated in the statements of Hezbollah leaders yesterday under the guise of "dialogue," as mentioned by Sheikh Naim Qassem, the Deputy Secretary-General.
However, at the same time, the spokesman for the duo, Excellent Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan, in a statement, demanded "the election of national interest alone, without the advice of the IMF armed with the US siege."
Sources told "Nidaa al-Watan" that the tension within the "duo" has led them to exaggerate their "real fear that the electoral session might be decisive from the first round, with Azour securing two-thirds of the votes of the deputies and declaring victory."
They base this assumption on the silence of the United States and, with it, Saudi Arabia, in addition to leaks from the French capital indicating, at the very least, a suspension of the initiative to exchange the presidency with the government.
Sources within the opposition forces have said, "If a Saudi password and another American one were disseminated to the deputies categorized under the gray area, we would find thirty deputies joining the intersection of forces supporting Azour's nomination."
In contrast to the fear-mongering campaign conducted by the opposition group against Azour, sources told "Nidaa al-Watan" that an extensive meeting was held yesterday for all components of the opposition, in addition to several independent MPs, to coordinate their position regarding the upcoming session on June 14th and study the practical steps to broaden the scope of consultations with blocs that have not yet determined their presidential choice.
As a result of this meeting, it became clear that among those who have determined their choice in favor of Azour among the Change MPs are Marc Dsou, Michel Douaihy, and Waddah al-Saddek.
On the other hand, those who have decided against Azour are Halima Kaakour, Cynthia Zarazir, and Elias Jradeh.
Six MPs still need to decide, including Melhem Khalaf, Najat Saliba, Paula Yaacoubian, Yassin Yassin, Firas Hamdan, and Ibrahim Mneimneh.
A prominent source within the Change MPs says that Azour's name was proposed among them before the intersection of the opposition took place. It was notable that some Change MPs changed their position without providing clear reasons.