A Statement by President Aoun on the Parliamentary Elections That Sparked Interpretations and Readings... What Is It?

Questions have been circulating in recent hours regarding a phrase uttered by the President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, meaning "There are those who live the same war to hold the elections based on it." Numerous interpretations, readings, and conclusions have emerged, with some making great efforts to interpret this phrase. What did President Aoun mean by what he indicated? Especially since we are living in an election period with speculations and conclusions flying left and right. The question is whether the elections will be held on their scheduled date in May or if there is a technical postponement, which in recent hours has risen to July or August? Or is there a two-year extension? Therefore, the President of the Republic, according to follow-up and monitoring, may have referred—and this is what he meant—to the fact that the previous parliamentary elections during the war phases witnessed extensions and postponements, and many things happened due to division, disparity, and disagreement in the country. The 1972 parliament renewed itself until the first post-Taif elections in 1992. Consequently, after this entitlement, there was an extension of the parliament for one year and two months in 2005 due to the circumstances and atmosphere that the country went through after the assassination of Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.

Given the dramatic events and developments in the south and Bekaa, and the Israeli threats of war, not to mention that Lebanon has entered the negotiation phase and there is a prominent movement of envoys in Lebanon, along with many other matters including preparations for the tourism and summer season, this means that the current conditions are not suitable. So, will the parliament renew itself or will there be a technical extension? Therefore, the President of the Republic, in the first elections during his term, does not accept any technical extension, but in the end, if time is delayed, a technical extension might occur. However, an extension of one or two years is naturally rejected by the President. He told one of the deputies he recently met that the elections will take place on time and that he respects the constitutional deadlines, and these imminent entitlements are ultimately considered a reform process.

Constitutional and legal expert Dr. Saeed Malik told "An-Nahar" that the President's phrase might be an indicator of the election date, and there is a team living the atmosphere of war in terms of heating up the electoral arena to contest it. He questioned how the state would manage the elections, meaning that the President asked him to send a message if he has powers regarding the electoral entitlement, but he hesitated. Therefore, he preferred that there be a solution through understanding and communication with the Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri, for this purpose. Malik believes that what the President meant might be a technical postponement coordinated with the Speaker of Parliament and the concerned parties until next July. However, the President will not accept postponing the electoral entitlement as was done during the war for two or three years or a full term, especially at the beginning of his term. Just as the municipal elections were held successfully and were a reform process, President Aoun wants free and fair parliamentary elections within a democratic framework and not postponed to any dates. However, a technical extension may be beginning to take shape in this context.

Malik concludes by saying that this might be the solution we will witness at the beginning of next year, and the phrase the President referred to fits within the context I mentioned.