General Michel Suleiman, the commander of the Lebanese army, seems to be assured of occupying the vacant post of president, now that the parliamentary majority has endorsed him as its compromise candidate. However, there are still some thorny issues to settle before the opposition agrees to give its blessing to General Suleiman’s election, and further problems loom large assuming he is eventually installed.
The army commander was not among the declared candidates in the weeks running up to the expiry of the mandate of Emile Lahoud on November 24th. However, he had always been considered as the most likely fallback option in the event that the government and the opposition failed to reach a consensus on one of the figures that had put their names forward. The general has carefully fostered an image of political neutrality, although the fact that he was appointed in 1998 during the era of Syrian control over Lebanon has tainted him with the stain of Damascus’s approval in the eyes of some.
The breakthrough for General Suleiman came when the March 14th bloc, which holds a slender parliamentary majority, declared that it was ready to propose a constitutional amendment enabling him to stand. …
The March 14th bloc presented this as a major concession on its part, because it entailed the formal abandonment of its notional right to employ its parliamentary majority to elect one of its own candidates. The move invited reciprocation from the opposition through lifting its boycott of parliament so as to allow the assembly of a quorum of at least two-thirds of the members. However, the opposition, comprising the Shia bloc of Hizbullah and Amal, as well as the Free Patriotic Movement of Michel Aoun, a former army commander and a candidate in the contest to succeed Mr Lahoud, appears to be setting conditions. These are said to include the proviso that General Suleiman should limit his tenure to two years, until fresh parliamentary elections are held in 2009 according to a revised election law, and that the new parliament should elect the next president.
The opposition is also thought to be seeking assurances on the make-up of the new government. Access the full article>>
