Western diplomats expected to push for presidency vote

Western diplomats are expected to begin a renewed push urging Lebanese political leaders to elect a president, in light of new reports that warn of dramatic developments in Lebanon that could strike at the heart of Lebanese coexistence.

Lebanese political leaders will be urged to prioritize the election of a new president and to decide for themselves on a president without foreign interference.

Diplomats have so far focused on urging Lebanese parties to find a consensus choice for the presidency beyond the current Christian leaders who have declared their candidacy, as well as the importance of “Lebanonizing” the presidential election.

Diplomats say that continuing to link the issue to foreign powers will keep it unresolved amid ongoing changes in the regional scene, prolonging the presidential vacuum and its negative effects on Lebanon.

The Western diplomatic push is linked to French efforts to resolve the presidential crisis. France is seen as being in a good position to handle the crisis, given that other Western powers are engaged in the negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, as well as other crises like Syria and Ukraine.

The upcoming dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah is also expected to open the door to a new opportunity to agree on a consensus president, and there are hopes that such a dialogue could open the door to broader political agreements in conjunction with the resolution of various regional crises.

The diplomatic initiative comes with the understanding that electing a president is necessary to strengthen Lebanon’s political security and stability, since it will allow Lebanese constitutional and political institutions to operate normally once again, allowing the country to face or at least mitigate the impact of regional crises.

Diplomatic sources said that, for the dialogue to occur, Lebanon must avoid the dangers posed by Sunni-Shiite sectarian tension, which has long been exacerbated by regional developments. Diplomats hope that Lebanon will remain stable amid the changes in the regional power balance.

The sources also said that the dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah, and their announcement of a joint vision on the presidential election would put an end to the claim that sectarian tensions are responsible for the failure to elect a president.

Several Western and political sources confirmed that a number of the candidates for the presidency had been visiting Paris, Doha and Riyadh, seeking support for their own bids to become the Lebanese head of state. One of the serious candidates dispatched a former minister to Washington to gauge from leaders in the American administration the possibility of their supporting his candidacy.

It was made clear to the minister that the U.S. did not prefer a specific candidate, and that it would not support one over the other. Senior State Department and National Security officials in the U.S. urged political factions to quickly elect a president, as Washington is primarily interested in retaining Lebanese stability and strengthening the Lebanese Army in its war on terrorism.

The Daily Star learned that Jean-Francois Giroux, the director of the French Foreign Ministry’s Middle East department, held preliminary meetings in Paris with Lebanese politicians ahead of his Tuesday visit to Lebanon, to inform Lebanese officials of France’s intention to push for the presidential election.

Giroux wants a list of candidate names ahead of his visit to Beirut, in which he will seek the opinions of the leaders of Lebanon’s various political blocs.