Pak Sahafat – Saudi Arabia has indirectly pressured the leader of the Future Movement in Lebanon, Saad al-Hariri, to persuade his Sunni supporters to vote in Riyadh-approved constituencies in the parliamentary elections scheduled for Sunday.
The London-based trans-regional newspaper Rai Al-Youm reported today, Sunday, quoting Lebanese media reports: Riyadh prevented Hariri from running in the upcoming parliamentary elections, leaving him out of the Lebanese political process. According to most Lebanese political circles, Hariri did so in response to Riyadh’s request.
In recent days, pro-Saudi politicians in Beirut have increasingly called on Hariri to urge his Sunni supporters in Beirut not to boycott the election and to go to the polls to vote for Saudi-backed lists.
Evaluations and reports indicate that the popular origins of Sunni supporters of Hariri are seeking to boycott the elections or to vote for the candidates of those political currents that are said to have betrayed Hariri in response to public support for Hariri’s exclusion from the country’s political process.
Saudi Arabia not only sent a message to Hariri on the Lebanese domestic scene, but also the Saudi mass media sent him violent messages that were reflected in Lebanon.
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The Saudi newspaper Akaz attacked former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, calling him a “weak and failed figure.”
The Akaz added: Hariri seems to be completely different after 17 years and is no longer the young man who shed tears after Saudi Arabia’s assassination of his father in February 2005. Hariri’s actions are considered symbolic political acts and show that in practice he has taken the approach of “political Shiism”.
The Saudi state-run newspaper added: “Hariri has failed politically and economically. He played a major role in the collapse of Lebanon. He called on his supporters to boycott the elections, and in doing so he did a great service to his father’s assassins. Saad Hariri in his political activities treats his rivals better than his allies.”
The crisis between Hariri and Saudi leaders began on November 4, 2017, when the Saudis took Hariri hostage as soon as he arrived at the airport and forced him to resign as prime minister, however, the Lebanese president opposed his resignation, stating that his agreement was conditional on Hariri’s presence in Beirut, followed by France’s intervention, and was able to return Hariri to Beirut after diplomatic efforts. He then remained in office until his resignation in 2019.
Lebanese sources speak of Hariri’s imminent return to the Lebanese political scene to end the boycott of the elections and vote in favor of Riyadh-backed lists. But it is not yet clear whether Hariri Sunni followers will follow him.