Gemayel Meets Geagea, Urges President Who'd 'Fully Reassure' Christians, Lebanese
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel stressed Tuesday the need to elect a president who would “fully reassure Christians and the Lebanese,” urging respect for the constitutional timeframe which ends on May 25.
“At the moment, our objective is to rescue the republic before it's too late and this would begin by electing a president within the constitutional timeframe,” Gemayel said after meeting Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab.
“We want a president who would lead the country rather than manage the presidential palace. We want a president who would fully reassure Christians and the Lebanese,” Gemayel underlined.
He added that “in this plight that we're going through, the president is required to preserve real partnership in the country.”
Gemayel underscored that it is necessary for the president to “enjoy the confidence of Christians amid the circumstances that we're going through.”
Asked about March 14's candidate, Gemayel said: “Nothing has changed until the moment. LF leader Samir Geagea is our candidate.”
On Monday, Gemayel slammed attempts to impede the presidential elections, noting that some foreign powers are keener on the polls than Lebanese officials.
He revealed that he would begin Tuesday a series of meetings with political leaders in a bid to avert vacuum in the presidency.
The first round of the presidential elections was held on April 23 with Geagea and Democratic Gathering MP Henri Helou the only two officials so far running in the polls.
A candidate needed the vote of 86 lawmakers in order to emerge victorious in the first round.
The second round was scheduled for April 30, but it was not held over a lack of quorum at parliament after the March 8 alliance, except Speaker Nabih Berri's Development and Liberation bloc, boycotted the session.
Berri scheduled a third session for Wednesday, but observers are expecting it to fail once again over a lack of quorum.
The ongoing divisions between the March 8 and 14 camps over the elections are raising fears of a presidential vacuum.
President Michel Suleiman's term ends on May 25 but the constitutional timeframe to elect a new president began on March 25.
Y.R.
M.T.
06 May 2014, 20:48
37
Ya Amin, dont be naive, even with full support from m14 and psp, shias parties wont accept a candidate that doesnt accept iranian rule...
06 May 2014, 23:52
23
Not everyone who opposed Iranian hegemony over Lebanon is automatically a Saudi puppet. As Lebanese, is serving Iran better than serving KSA, or vic-a-versa?
07 May 2014, 06:04
11
The president of the state is Christian.
Speaker of the house is Shiite
Salam is Sunni
Next parliament session you count how many Christians voted for A president and then elect him.
Have a nice day land let's move on to solve the country problems.
07 May 2014, 12:44
01
Mowaten, mine is a voice that opposed the election of people like Aoun and Geagea, so in this context I wouldn't dispute your assertion of both them being divisive in their own respective rights. However, since we are all now heading towards a dead end, how about if some people are named to the post, masalan like Demyanos Kattar, or Ziad Baroud, or Boutros Harb, do you believe that Hezbollah and the FPM will object to their nomination? I mean, we now all need to find a solution, so in the absence of which we might as well be heading towards the extension of Suleiman's term.
06 May 2014, 22:55
22
Why does he need to specify the Christians' needs, then the Lebanese's afterwards? The whole problem with having someone from the Kataeb is that the whole ideology of that party is the security of the Christians first and foremost, particularly the Maronites. Sectarian divide will never allow this country a chance to progress and develop.
Pity the nation divided into fragments,
each fragment deeming itself a nation.
07 May 2014, 00:04
32
Look it, even though the so called "civil war" ended in 1990, Lebanon is still in chaos and war can erupt any minute, Palestinian arms/militia still exist in Lebanon, "Islamic" Republic of Iran has established a proxy Iranian army in Lebanon fighting for the Islamic Republic's interests, Israeli/Palestinian conflict has become a made in Lebanon national treasure (more likely disaster), the rich Gulf countries heavily investing in Beirut have pushed the Lebanese citizens out of the real estate market, etc. So yes, if you don't look after yourself, no one would.
