Geagea with Polls under 1960 Law if Constitutional Council 'Shortens' Extension Period
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Thursday said he supports going to parliamentary elections if the Constitutional Council decides to shorten the extended term of parliament, stressing that Saudi Arabia did not influence his party's decision to vote in favor of extension.
“If the Constitutional Council decides to shorten the extension period, we are with going to elections, even under the 1960 (electoral) law,” Geagea said in an interview on LBCI television.
Geagea described the appeal submitted earlier in the day to the Constitutional Council by the Change and Reform bloc as a "folkloric step," hoping the Constitutional Council will “shorten the extension period.”
“Has any minister asked the government about the reason that prevented it from preparing for elections? Are they playing smart now by filing a challenge?” said Geagea.
“It was not (head of the Change and Reform bloc Michel) Aoun who proposed the Orthodox Gathering law, we did,” the LF leader noted, in reference to a controversial electoral law under which each sect would elect its own MPs.
“Aoun opposed the Orthodox Gathering law when we proposed it in Bkirki,” said Geagea.
Defending his party's decision to vote in favor of extension, Geagea added: “Of course we were against extension when the choice was between extension and parliamentary polls, but we chose extension over the risk of falling into the unknown.”
“Speaker (Nabih) Berri kept saying that he would not approve extension and Hizbullah's stance was not clear, that's why we were afraid to fall into the unknown,” he explained.
Denying claims that his stance was influenced by Saudi Arabia, which he visited last month, Geagea stressed that “the issue of extension was not raised even for a single moment in Saudi Arabia.”
While in the kingdom, “I agreed with (al-Mustaqbal movement leader Saad) Hariri that I would not vote for extension, but the circumstances changed in Beirut,” Geagea pointed out.
“Hariri urged me several times to vote for extension and I told him that I would not vote for it and that this was the stance of the LF's executive committee,” he revealed.
However, the LF leader noted that he was “not convinced of the reasons announced by the interior minister to postpone the elections,” adding that “it would have been better to hold the elections.”
“We must become accustomed to holding elections regardless of the security situations,” Geagea stated.
“The other reason that pushed us to accept extension was that we did not want others to get accustomed to passing major decisions without the approval of Christians,” he added.
Asked whether the political paralysis in the country was aimed at reaching a constituent assembly that would reshape the entire political system, Geagea said “when you speak of a constituent assembly you must have a workpaper and it is inexistent at the moment.”
“If some believe that the Taef Accord is not valid, let them propose an alternative project and I'm not so fond of the Taef Accord,” said Geagea.
He accused the parliamentary blocs of Hizbullah and the FPM of “obstructing everything.”
“The Change and Reform bloc's priority is the election of General Aoun as president and I bet that if an agreement is reached today to elect Aoun is president, his MPs would go to the parliament to elect him, although they have labeled the legislature as illegitimate,” Geagea noted.
On the issue of the stalled presidential elections, Geagea wondered “how can one say that the Aoun-Geagea competition has torpedoed the presidential vote.”
“What was the Lebanese Forces supposed to do other than attending all the electoral sessions?” he asked rhetorically.
“Aoun must be pressed to go to parliament and elect a president and there is another solution, which is reaching an understanding over a president,” added Geagea.
Asked about claims that his "historic mission" has always been to prevent Aoun from reaching the Baabda Palace, Geagea said: “I'm not carrying any historic mission other than my political project and I have carried this concern for 35 years -- during the war, in prison and during peace times -- and I have the right to announce my nomination.”
As for the stance of the March 14 forces, Geagea said he told the coalition's two other candidates – Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel and MP Butros Harb -- that he would “immediately withdraw in favor of anyone who can secure more votes.”
Last week, 95 out of 128 lawmakers voted to extend their term in office for a second time, amid a boycott by the FPM and the Kataeb Party.
Lebanon has been without a president since May when the term of Michel Suleiman ended.
A dispute between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate has thwarted the election of a new president.
Y.R.
Source: Naharnet
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