Geagea: We Will Not Acquiesce to Settlement over Presidential Elections
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea hailed on Wednesday the March 14 camp on the success of the first round of the presidential elections, saying that it restored dignity to the polls after years of foreign meddling.
He remarked: “We will not acquiesce to a settlement over the presidential elections and we will continue with the democratic process until the end.”
He made his statement after parliament held the first round of the elections in which he is a candidate.
He received the vote of 48 MPs, while 16 lawmakers voted for Aley lawmaker Henri Helou, one for Kataeb Party chief ex-President Amin Gemayel, and 52 cast blank ballots.
Discarded votes included names of victims of the Lebanese Civil War.
“We will not return to old habits of choosing a president behind closed doors and through foreign interference,” added Geagea in reference to Syria's influence over the elections in the past.
“We will continue with the electoral process to the end and until a Lebanese-elected president is chosen,” he vowed.
Asked about the names of civil war martyrs that were cast, the LF chief replied: “I was hoping that the other camp would have resorted to honorable means to express its disdain for the elections.”
He criticized the manner in which the other camp “threw about the names of the victims,” accusing the March 8 alliance of seeking to obstruct and tarnish the electoral process in order to pave the way for foreign meddling in the polls.
On claims that he is a confrontational presidential candidate, Geagea asked: “Do they want a president who does not have a presidential program? Don't they want a president who has answers to Lebanon's problems?”
“We will cooperate with whichever president is elected as long as he is chosen through democratic means,” he added.
The Christian leader, along with several other March 14 officials and reporters, had followed up the parliamentary session from his residence in Maarab.
Earlier on Wednesday, Geagea expressed regret that the March 8 alliance didn't name a candidate for the presidential elections, describing the electoral process as “normal.”
“For the first time in many years the presidential elections are serious and made in Lebanon,” he told reporters.
He pointed out that “the rival party has no choice but to deal with the matter seriously.”
The first round of the elections failed to elect a new president amid disputes over the name of the new head of state, which threatens a vacuum at the helm of the country's most important Christian post.
Parliamentary blocs will vote for two candidates - Geagea and the Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc member, MP Henri Helou.
A candidate needed to secure 86 votes of the 128-member parliament during the first round to be named president.
A second round of elections will be held on April 30, where a candidate will need 65 votes to claim victory.
H.K./M.T.
G.K.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/127698 |