Aoun Breaks Silence: Opposition Maintained Popular Majority

Aoun Breaks Silence: Opposition Maintained Popular Majority
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10/06/2009 Two days following the parliamentary elections and its results, the head of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Michel Aoun broke his silence and spoke to reporters, stressing that the national opposition might have failed to secure the parliamentary majority but was able to maintain the popular one, which is far more important.

The General held on Wednesday the first meeting for his new 27-member Change and Reform bloc, the bloc that turned to be a "winner" in the elections despite all rumors and claims, the bloc that increased its size in the elections with the entrance of new members into it such, including prominent figures such as the head of the Marada movement former minister Sleiman Franjieh and the head of the Lebanese Democratic Party Minister Talal Erslan.

Aoun spoke to reporters following the meeting and reaffirmed the unity and solidarity of the opposition in the coming stages. He stressed that the opposition did not win parliamentary majority but maintained popular majority. "We won over the alliance of political funds by other groups which are on the verge of collapsing," he said. "We overcame the state's apparatuses which worked in the elections and brought voters," he added.

The Free Patriotic Movement leader pledged to contest the victory of MP Michel al-Murr in the Metn district in terms of bribery and the detention of a citizen. "The case of Murr and Akkari has two angles: punitive and constitutional," he said. "We will challenge the elections and this will the first experience for the Constitutional Council. We will see if the council will perform its duty," he added.

Meanwhile, Aoun called for participation in the future government based on relativity equation. "All opposition parties are dedicated to participating in the new cabinet, which should be formed on the basis of proportionality," he explained. "They can refuse our participation in the future government but in case they do, let them bear the consequences," Aoun warned.

The FPM leader denied being against President Michel Sleiman or Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, and said that Sleiman should build consensus and resolve the deficit that accompanied the elections. "I am not against the President or the Patriarch and in case they have something against me, I do not know the reason," Aoun pointed out. "We are not centrists and we hope the president will support out reformist agenda and play a unifying role," he stressed.

Earlier, member of Change and Reform parliamentary bloc MP Nabil Nicolas said on Wednesday that the statement made by Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir on the eve of the parliamentary elections constituted a violation of the electoral law, hinting that his party might contest the final results of the elections based on it.

Speaking to "elnashra" website, Nicolas said that Sunday's elections proved that the Free Patriotic Movement was still leading the Christian popular leadership. "General Michel Aoun remains the sole representative of the Christians in this East," Nicolas said.

Commenting on the results of the elections, Nicolas called on the person "who pledged to quit in case less than five members of his ticket win" to fulfill his promises. He was referring to MP Michel Murr who couldn't secure more than two seats for his ticket in the Metn elections.