Gemayel Proposes Presidential Initiative after Meeting Girault

Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel Wednesday suggested an initiative to resolve the presidential void crisis in which he demanded supporting one of the top four Maronite leaders in order to elect a “strong and capable president.”

After meeting the Director of the Department of the Middle East and North Africa at the French Foreign Ministry Jean-François Girault, Gemayel said that he “proposed an initiative based on consensus among all leaders over electing a strong and capable president.”

“I made sure that the initiative combines between the identity of a capable president while respecting the parliamentary rules,” he added.

The Kataeb chief said that “the initiative calls for nominating the four Maronite leaders for the presidency before supporting only one of them, without closing the door in the face of the other candidates in order to respect the democratic game and allow it to take its normal course.”

Girault arrived in Beirut on Monday and has since visited several political leaders without commenting about the presidential issue, even though it is his top priority according to media reports.

The country has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended on May 25, 2014.

Gemayel, who has not officially nominated himself for the presidential post, has hinted more than once that March 14 might adopt his candidacy if Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea withdraws in his favor.

On Wednesday, Gemayel also urged Paris to “mobilize the international community to resolve the presidential void issue without ignoring the main political responsibility which falls on the Lebanese parties.”

During the meeting with his French visitor, Gemayel said he mentioned “the existential dangers which threaten the uncontrolled Lebanese borders due to linking Lebanon to foreign axes, and that expose the country's sovereignty and existence to major threats.”

Gemayel also urged the international community to “address the threats facing the Lebanese entity and territory.”

Based on that, he requested an international investigation committee “to observe the situation in Lebanon and submit its report to the (U.N.) Security Council in order for it to take the right position according to the report.”

M.Y.

Y.R.