Gemayel Should Concede

Nitpicking over Armenian wrongdoing could cost Gemayel more than it can benefit him.

Don’t be cross (photo: Albalad)

The official results are out and the Aounist candidate has won. The margin is slim (418 votes), and Gemayel is tempted to fiddle. 

If he has, as he declared, evidence of a large scale Tashnaq forgery operation, perhaps, just perhaps, he could overturn his loss. Gemayel shouldn’t take that road.

It is understandable why Gemayel would want to reclaim his dead son’s seat no matter what, but this battle would cost him prestige and could very well be futile. Gemayel’s “Maronite victory” is his more important political achievement, and it would be a pity to squander it in a small fight that could cost him future Armenian support and fuel unnecessary Maronite-Armenian tension.

Instead, Gemayyel should pocket his Maronite victory and act presidential by calling Aoun to congratulate him on an earned victory. This is an opportunity for a political breakthrough and in this particular case, everyone can be a winner.

PS: today’s newspapers are up in the Newsstand. (Al-Akhbar and Aliwaa are not online yet). Perhaps you want to check their take on the results.