Hariri: Franjieh is Our Candidate and I Have Not Nominated Myself for PM Post

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri openly declared Wednesday that Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh is his presidential candidate while denying that he has demanded the prime minister post for himself.

“We stressed to Speaker Nabih Berri that we must stage the presidential election in a democratic manner,” said Hariri after talks with the speaker in Ain al-Tineh.

“Today there are three candidates and we must all head to parliament to practice this democratic right and reach the election of a president,” he added, referring to Franjieh, Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun and Democratic Gathering MP Henri Helou.

Asked why doesn't he “respect the will of the Christian majority” in light of the latest presidential agreement between the FPM and the Lebanese Forces, Hariri stressed that Franjieh is “one of the four” Christian leaders who met in Bkirki and agreed that “anyone of them enjoys the Christian cover” to become president.

“Each one of us is free to choose whomever they want and this is a political issue and a national issue that has to do with the entire political structure in Lebanon,” he added.

Hariri also stressed that the Lebanese have the ability to elect a president without any foreign interference, noting that the boycott of electoral sessions is not a “constitutional right.”

Denying that he is insisting on heading the next government, the ex-PM emphasized that it is up to parliament to choose the country's new prime minister.

“Let no one accuse me” of delaying the presidential polls and “I'm exerting all efforts possible for the election of a new president,” Hariri added.

“I have made an initiative to put the issue of the presidency on the right track,” he said, referring to his nomination of Franjieh.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended on May 25, 2014 and the FPM, Hizbullah and some of their allies have been boycotting the electoral sessions.

Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his suggestion was rejected by the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

The Hizbullah-led March 8 camp, as well as March 14's Lebanese Forces, have argued that Aoun is more eligible than Franjieh to become president given the size of his parliamentary bloc and his influence in the Christian community.

Y.R.