President of the National Dialogue Party, MP Fouad Makhzoumi, accompanied by his Political Adviser, Dr. Carol Zouein, visited Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai in Bkerke. His Beatitude hosted them for lunch, during which they discussed the general situation in Lebanon.

Makhzoumi stated: “Our meeting with His Beatitude was first and foremost to congratulate him on his strong stance regarding the issue of sovereignty, and secondly, to commend his position on overturning the ruling that had barred Judge Tarek Bitar from continuing his investigation into the Beirut Port explosion.” He added that he had not seen a single state official, from the highest levels to the lowest, object to the threats made against Judge Bitar, despite a ministerial statement identifying the port explosion investigation as one of the foremost issues requiring action.

Regarding the electoral law, Makhzoumi questioned why draft laws concerning the women’s quota had not been passed. He noted that the previous day he had signed, alongside MP Shamel Roukoz, a draft law submitted by the National Commission for Lebanese Women concerning this quota. He considered the way the matter had been handled a complete rejection of women’s role in political decision-making in the country.

As for the participation of expatriates in the elections, Makhzoumi said that their foremost concern was their families back home. He pointed out that Lebanese expatriates transfer billions of dollars annually to support their families and stressed that they would vote against the corrupt political class that had brought the country to its current state.

He also warned of attempts by Parliament to marginalize expatriates through various means, including the proposal to allocate six parliamentary seats to represent six continents. Makhzoumi expressed his full support for His Beatitude’s position and agreed that efforts to eliminate the role of expatriates in the upcoming elections must be firmly rejected.