Report: Geagea, March 14 Camp Preparing for Parliamentary Elections

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea is keen to hold the parliamentary elections and avoid the extension of parliament's tenure for a second time, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Saturday.

It said that he strongly advocates holding the polls for “constitutional reasons,” adding that he has started his consultations with March 14 camp parties, namely the Mustaqbal Movement, to that end.

The daily said that the LF bloc will not vote for the extension of parliament's term should matters come to this, but it is instead preparing for the elections.

Circles close to Geagea told al-Joumhouria that all recent surveys showed that the LF has gained in popularity as opposed to its rival the Free Patriotic Movement of MP Michel Aoun given the latter's political practices.

Geagea has accused Aoun of obstructing the presidential elections through a boycott of his Change and Reform bloc of six of the last elections sessions.

The boycott, along with that of its allies in Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, has resulted in a lack of quorum at parliament, which led to the failure of the polls.

In May 2013, parliament voted to extend its term, consequently postponing parliamentary elections that were scheduled for June of that same year.

Both pro- and anti-Syrian blocs, except for the Change and Reform bloc, agreed to the 17-month extension, which was prompted by deteriorating security conditions related to Syria's turmoil and lawmakers' failure to agree on a parliamentary electoral law.

The decision marked the first time that parliament has had to extend its term since the country's own 15-year civil war ended in 1990 and underlines the growing turmoil in Lebanon spilling over from the conflict in its neighbor.