The Lebanese diaspora in the Middle East voted today, the rest will vote on Sunday for the first time.
Every leader, in Europe as elsewhere, is looking for a majority that will support him or her so that they may help them act and put into application their programs. They therefore do not hesitate to develop alliances, sometimes against their own beliefs, in order to maximize this majority.
This is even truer in Lebanon since the Taëf Accord have become a constitutional law. In effect, this accord have removed all the prerogatives of the president of the republic but have kept his role as an arbitrator, an inspirer and sometimes an instigator between the different powers as well as his role of supreme chief of the armed forces.
He is also the only one to swear to defend the constitution and watch over and respect it. We also find that the president of the republic is the representative of the Christian component of the nation according to the actual consensual system.
From 1990, the era of the Taëf, they have always elected a weak president, stripped of all legitimacy and incapable of imposing himself and assuming his functions. By choosing such a person the objective of marginalizing the Christians that opposed the regime was attained.
That was without taking into account that General Aoun refused the “fait accompli” and imposed the return of the national equilibrium by ascending into the position of supreme power.
For the president Aoun to be able to impose his rhythm and fully exercise his power as given by the constitution, he needs a prepondering popular legitimacy that comes from the ballots and translates into the largest possible presidential majority ever, capable of supporting him and help him achieve his vision and his projects.
We have seen this with the predecessors of General Aoun, especially the latest one, a weak president without any popular legitimacy or parliamentary backup will never be heard and his authority will be marginalized along with the remainder of the Christians he is supposed to represent.
Our projects for the country are huge, our plans for the renewal are fundamental. Above all that, our inspiration, the General Aoun is at the helm and the sacred father of this nation. Many sites have already begun working despite the resistance met by the system and its detractors. But the current legislative elections constitute an extraordinary chance that we have to grab onto so as to give the president that largest possible parliamentary majority, so that we may empower him and allow him to play the central role that the constitution confers him.
The diaspora has to assume its responsibility and to vote in massive numbers in favor of the official candidates of that presidential majority, that are found exclusively on the lists of “Strong Lebanon” “لبنان_القوي#”
That is how the diaspora will retake its place at the heart of the national decision making and thus assume its part of the responsibility.
