Battles for Lebanon's parliamentary elections have brought back political confrontations between the two Druze leaders in Mount Lebanon, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party MP Walid Jumblat and head of the Lebanese Democratic Party, Minister of the Displaced Talal Arslan, Asharq al-Awsat daily reported Tuesday.
The two men traded jibes on Twitter over the weekend. Arslan accused Jumblat of “monopolizing the decision of the Druze community,” while PSP leader said “there is no need to engage into a dialogue with the Emir of preaching, eloquence and governance,” hitting at Arslan.
Electoral talks between the two parties in the Chouf-Aley district reached a dead end. This has imposed a confrontation through an alliance struck by Jumblat with al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Lebanese Forces Party on one hand, while Arslan on the other struck an alliance with the Free Patriotic Movement, declaring that his party would join the FPM parliamentary bloc, said the daily.
In his message to Jumblat through social media outlets, Arslan said he had not received any alliance proposal from Jumblat.
But sources familiar with the negotiations said the PSP leader has "made an electoral offer to Arslan giving him a candidate, former MP Marwan Abu Fadel, for the Orthodox seat in the district of Aley in an effort to calm electoral conflicts. But Arslan struck an alliance with the Free Patriotic Movement instead.”
Failure to form coalition between the two Druze leaders has opened the door on “electoral confrontations” that were occasionally paralleled with “security problems around Aley.” But these were contained by the security forces, according to the daily.
An electoral standoff is expected between “the Jumblatis” and “Arslanis,” and of course with the latter's FPM ally.
Ties between Jumblat and the FPM –political party of President Michel Aoun-- “have been nothing but bad” since the return of Aoun from his French exile.
In Chouf-Aley district, several electoral lists will be competing for the May 6 elections: The Jumblat-Mustaqbal-LF list; Arslan-FPM-Syrian Social Nationalist Party(SSNP) list, supported by Hizbullah; former minister Wiaam Wahhab's list; and an incomplete list joining the Kataeb and National Liberal Party; in addition to two lists comprising members of the civil society.
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