Kataeb Rejects Turning Presidential Election into a 'Deal'

The Kataeb Party on Monday said that it rejects attempts to “turn the process of electing a president from a democratic practice” into a “deal.”

In a statement issued after its political bureau's weekly meeting, the party stressed its keenness on “implementing the Constitution and abiding by its stipulations.”

“The Kataeb Party rejects replacing democracy with the distribution of shares, personal gains and foreign diktats, and it also rejects turning the process of electing a president from a democratic practice into a deal vote,” it added.

“The party will remain the sovereign voice that echoes loudly to rescue the republic,” Kataeb said, adding that it will continue to “reject surrender and insist on the right of the Lebanese to see an end to the presidential void and the election of a president who would distance Lebanon from conflicts.”

The next president must also “enjoy full independence in his decisions away from any foreign or domestic agendas,” the party added.

Kataeb has repeatedly reiterated that it would not vote for any presidential candidate carrying the political vision of the Hizbullah-led March 8 camp.

Two of Hizbullah's allies – Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun and Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh – are vying for the country's top Christian post.

Aoun's chances have largely surged in recent days amid reports that al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri has decided to shift his support from Franjieh to the FPM founder.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.