Gemayel Says Kataeb to Vote against Extension, Refuses to 'Acquit Those Impeding Presidential Election'

Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel announced Monday that the party's MPs will vote against the proposed extension of parliament's term during Wednesday's session, stressing that “the priority at the moment is the election of a president.”

“Some consider that this is part of the necessary legislation … but this would totally and ultimately marginalize the principle of electing a new president,” Gemayel warned in an interview with Radio Monte Carlo.

“We will vote against extension because voting in favor would acquit those who impeded the presidential election and dragged us into a new heresy, which is extending the legislature's mandate,” Gemayel added.

Asked who is to blame for the protracted presidential vacuum, Kataeb's leader accused “Hizbullah, the Free Patriotic Movement and some independent Christian and Muslim MPs.”

As for his nomination for the presidency, Gemayel noted that his candidacy was not announced by Kataeb, “but rather by the Bkirki (Maronite) meeting and by a public opinion that believes that this nomination is in the country's interest.”

“The main problem is in impeding quorum,” Kataeb's leader added, referring to the boycott of electoral sessions by the FPM and Hizbullah.

The Baabda Palace has been vacant since the expiry of president Michel Suleiman's term in May. The rival MPs failed to elect a new head of state over their differences on a compromise candidate.

The majority of the March 8 camp's lawmakers have boycotted the sessions over their claim that there should be consensus on a candidate first. But their boycott was a clear sign of their rejection of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea's candidacy.

The LF is likely to vote for the extension of parliament's term on Wednesday despite the rejection of other main Christian parties such as the Kataeb and the FPM.

Y.R.