SINIORA ENTERS RACE FOR SIDON PARLIAMENT SEAT
By Therese Sfeir

Daily Star
April 8 2009
Lebanon

Total of 676 candidates to compete in June elections

BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime
Minister Fouad Siniora were expected to inspect early Wednesday, as The
Daily Star went to press, the special premises the Interior Ministry
will be using to monitor the June 7 parliamentary elections. Half an
hour before the midnight deadline for registering to run in the vote,
676 people had submitted their candidacies for the spring polls. The
deadline for withdrawing candidacies is on April 21.

Earlier Tuesday, Premier Siniora announced that he would run for the
Sunni seat in the coastal city of Sidon.

Addressing reporters ahead of a parliamentary session, Siniora pledged
to work for Lebanon’s "coexistence, social and economic development
and the improvement of living conditions." He added that he would
seek to "defend the freedom and sovereignty of Lebanon, protect
state institutions and preserve the country’s right to liberate
its territory."

"I rely on God and the Lebanese people who participated in the March
14 uprising," Siniora said.

Well-informed sources had earlier told The Daily Star that Siniora
would announce that he would not run in the elections. However,
the sources added that the prime minister was asked to postpone his
announcement until further discussions were conducted.

As-Safir newspaper said on Tuesday that Siniora was waiting for MP
Saad Hariri’s final say on whether he should enter the race.

In response to Siniora’s candidacy, opposition MP Osama Saad, Siniora’s
electoral opponent in the coastal city, said on Monday that the
electoral battle in Sidon had "political and patriotic dimensions,"
stressing that he would win the contest.

In remarks to reporters at Nejmeh Square, Saad said that his movement’s
victory would be "a victory for all patriotic Lebanese," adding that
he was ready for the electoral battle.

Meanwhile, the Armenian Ramgavar party announced on Tuesday Minister
of State Jean Ogassapian’s candidacy for the Armenian Orthodox seat
in Beirut’s third district on the March 14 alliance’s electoral list
for the upcoming elections.

A statement issued by the party said that "the country will either
regain its role of linking the West with the East or will remain an
arena of wars."

Also on Tuesday, former Prime Minister Omar Karami announced his
candidacy for a Sunni parliamentary seat in the Tripoli district.

Meanwhile, media reports on Tuesday said that disagreements between
Speaker Berri and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun over
the Jezzine and Baabda districts would be resolved soon. The sources
said negotiations aimed at finding a solution to the deadlock were
ongoing.

The reports added that Berri and Aoun were still at loggerheads over
the districts of Jezzine and Baabda.

As-Safir newspaper said indirect contacts between Berri and Aoun
through Hizbullah had hit snares over the past few days. The report
said Aoun refused to have MP Samir Azar on Jezzine’s consensus list
unless he got the Catholic seat in Zahrani.

"If Speaker Berri wants to have a battle; then let it be an open-ended
battle between me and him," As-Safir quoted Aoun as telling his
supporters and allies.

As for the Baabda district, the problem between Berri and Aoun revolves
around the second Shiite name on the list, according to As-Safir.

The daily said Aoun refused to include Berri-backed Talal Hatoum
on the list and gave priority to his FPM’s candidate Ramzi Kanj or
another candidate who would be decided by Aoun and Hizbullah.

In a separate development, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP
Walid Jumblatt announced on Tuesday his candidates for the different
districts.

During a news conference held at his residence in Clemenceau,
Jumblatt announced the candidacy of MPs Ghazi Aridi for the
Druze seat in Beirut, Wael Abu Faour for the Druze seat in western
Bekaa-Rashaya and Antoine Saad for the Greek Orthodox seat in western
Bekaa-Rashaya. Jumblatt added that the PSP’s electoral program would
be announced on the anniversary of the establishment of the group on
May 1.

Meanwhile, a possible election compromise between President Sleiman
and Aoun in Kesrouan failed to materialize, as Nehmat Frem, who was
said to be running as a consensus candidate, announced that he would
not run in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Frem said that becoming a deputy
"has never been an objective" he wanted to achieve.

He added that he had put his candidacy at the service of a consensus in
Kesrouan. "I made efforts for consensus which haven’t been successful
yet. But I hope that this happens at a later time," Frem said. Other
reports said on Tuesday that Frem’s decision implicated the failure
of the Sleiman-Aoun equation.

Meanwhile, former MP Fares Boueiz, who is running for the Maronite
seat in Kesrouan, told As-Safir daily that negotiations with the Free
Patriotic Movement have reached an advanced stage. However, Boueiz said
he was still in contact with parties that might run against the FPM.

A possible alliance "with independents would be only an electoral
alliance … As for politics, each one of us has his own choices and
views," the former MP said.

Sources from the Lebanese Forces said on Tuesday that the party would
not have a candidate in Keserouan and would support Sejaan Azzi, the
Phalange party’s candidate. "We will put all our efforts to back the
list that is running against Aoun’s list," an LF source was quoted
as saying.

Meanwhile, media reports said Tuesday that the formation of a coalition
list in the northern city of Tripoli needed further contacts and
negotiations.

According to the daily Al-Liwaa, the obstacles facing the establishment
of a tripartite alliance between MP Saad Hariri, former Prime Minister
Najib Mikati and Economy and Trade Minister Mohammad Safadi focused
on three parliamentary seats, the Maronite, Greek Orthodox and the
Alawite seats.

As-Safir newspaper also reported that the Future Movement would most
probably replace MP Qassem Abdul Aziz in Dinniyeh with former MP Ahmad
Karami, who was previously agreed upon with Mikati. Hariri’s movement,
the report said, also favored including MP Mosbah Ahdab in the Tripoli
coalition list despite an earlier agreement on Karami.

Meanwhile, sources quoted by the Central News Agency said that Sleiman
would tackle the issue of elections at the beginning of a Cabinet
session scheduled for Wednesday at Baabda Palace.