Photo: AFP
Lebanon’s leading Sunni Muslim politician and former prime minister Saad al-Hariri has announced that he will not run in the May parliamentary elections and will step down for the time being.
According to the report, he read out a pre-prepared statement at his residence in Beirut on Monday with tears in his eyes.
He has demanded from the members of his party ‘Future Movement’ to abide by this decision and suspend their participation in politics.
Referring to his slain father, Rafik al-Hariri, the three-time prime minister said: “He entered politics with two goals: to prevent another civil war from erupting in Lebanon and to provide a better life for Lebanese. I did, but I did not have much success in the other end.
Saad al-Hariri once had strong ties with the West and the Gulf Arab states, but his political reputation has deteriorated in recent years after he granted numerous concessions to the pro-Iranian Shiite militia Hezbollah and its allies.
He referred to the agreement reached on May 7, 2008, after the capture of Beirut by Hezbollah fighters. He met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus after his father’s assassination.
He also acknowledged that his political rival, Michel Aoun, had been elected president of Lebanon and had endorsed the decision. He then agreed to a new electoral law that resulted in his party losing significant parliamentary representation.
But Saad al-Hariri has defended his decisions, saying he is the only politician who has confessed to his wrongdoings. “I was the only person who responded to the October Revolution and I resigned my government,” he said, referring to the nationwide anti-government protests in October 2019.
His longtime political ally and longtime politician Waleed Jumblatt has expressed regret over his decision. He told Al Arabiya English in his message that “the loss of a pillar of moderation and freedom is a very sad moment in history, it will allow Iranians to intervene more freely in Lebanon and shake hands.”
Saad al-Hariri himself pointed out that he believed that there was no room for any positive opportunity for Lebanon in the form of Iranian influence, international chaos, national division, sectarianism and the collapse of the state.
He had been meeting with representatives of his party, the Future Movement, and senior Lebanese politicians since last Thursday, and after consulting with them, announced a boycott of the election on Monday. He said that as long as Iran has influence in the country, no positive change can take place.
Saad al-Hariri has served as Lebanon’s prime minister three times since his father, Rafik al-Hariri, was killed in a bomb blast in Beirut in 2005, but his political fortunes have not changed in recent years. Is gone
Hariri’s announcement comes at a time when Lebanon is facing its worst economic crisis. The World Bank has called it the worst global recession ever. The country’s sectarian elites have failed to address the crisis, with a large portion of the population living in poverty.
It should be noted that Lebanon has a system of government based on sectarianism. The country is governed by a system of power-sharing, with state positions divided among 18 officially recognized sects. The Prime Minister of the country is a Sunni politician.
Saad al-Hariri’s main rival, the Iranian-backed Shiite group Hezbollah and its allies, won a majority in the 2018 parliamentary elections. Opponents are hoping for a change in the outcome of the May election, while Western nations are pushing for a timely election in crisis-stricken Lebanon.
However, some analysts say a boycott of Lebanon’s largest Sunni movement could delay the election and destabilize the Sunni political landscape itself.
“The boycott of Saad al-Hariri has taken a toll on the whole process,” said Mahinda Haji Ali, a Fellow of the Carnegie Middle East Center. Now there is a growing speculation that elections may not be held.
Hariri’s last term as prime minister ended in October 2019. He resigned after large-scale public protests against the ruling elite, and Lebanon has been plagued by a series of crises.
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