Baabda-Aley by-election candidate Hikmat Deeb said Friday that one of his electoral platform pledges was aimed at regaining sovereignty, independence and freedom of decision.
Deeb, who read his electoral platform in front of a large audience, pledged to respect human rights as laid down in international charters.
“It is most dangerous to compare the Lebanese regime to that of totalitarian countries,” said Deeb, who is supported by exiled former army chief Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement. He is also supported by Nadim Gemayel, son of slain president-elect Bashir Gemayel and founder of the Lebanese Forces militia in the 1970s.
He added that the fact the public debt had exceeded $30 billion and that more than a million Lebanese had left the country coupled with a rising rate of unemployment were all symptoms of the loss of sovereignty.
In a separate development, former President Amin Gemayel said he avoided getting involved in the upcoming Baabda-Aley by-elections because he wanted to avoid tension associated with the polls.
Speaking to reporters in Diman on Friday after meeting with Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir, Gemayel denied there was any problem between himself and his nephew, Nadim.
“There is no problem. Family problems are being treated within the family.”
Speaking about divisions within the Christian opposition Qornet Shehwan Gathering, Gemayel said the group was “not a political party and not a political front.” He added that during last year’s Metn by-elections, the group adopted a neutral position and left its members to decide for themselves who to back in the elections.
In other developments, candidate Henri Helou paid a visit to Metn MP Nassib Lahoud’s Democratic Renewal Movement. Helou discussed his electoral platform with Lahoud, who is a member of the Qornet Shehwan Gathering.
Meanwhile, candidate Imad Hajj continued his campaign in preparation for the Sept. 14 by-elections. He met with several parties in Ain al-Remmaneh, Chiyah and Aley.
Another candidate, Mounir Assaf Bejjani, on Friday submitted his official candidacy for the Baabda-Aley seat, which became vacant when MP Pierre Helou, father of Henri Helou, died earlier this month.
Bejjani, a retired army officer, said his credentials were the fact that he was the head of a family and “I know what I want.”