Opposition seeks agreement on 'third candidate'

After the nominations of Suleiman Franjieh and Michel Mouawad “nearly reached a dead end,” efforts got underway to find a “third candidate” on which the opposition’s 45 MPs can agree, political sources said.

“There are more than 20 MPs who are yet to take a stance, pending consensus on an acceptable candidate whom they can support,” the sources told the al-Anbaa news portal of the Progressive Socialist Party.

“Contacts are ongoing behind the scenes with the heads of a number of parliamentary blocs and in coordination with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and they have made some progress,” the sources added.

However, these contacts “remain of no value pending proposals or consent from the Shiite Duo,” the sources went on to say.