Geagea with Polls under 1960 Law if Constitutional Council 'Shortens' Extension Period
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
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.
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13 November 2014, 23:20
Geagea: The moderate status of Sunnis in Lebanon must be preserved so that Tripoli and the rest of regions remain moderate, instead of challenging them everyday. If we're really keen on keeping the Sunnis in Lebanon moderate, Hizbullah must withdraw from Syria.
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13 November 2014, 22:58
Geagea: I told Sheikh Amin (Gemayel), Butros Harb and entire March 14 that I would immediately withdraw in favor of anyone who can secure more votes.
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13 November 2014, 22:56
Geagea: 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.
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13 November 2014, 22:55
Geagea on claims that his "historic mission" has always been to prevent Aoun from reaching the Baabda Palace: 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.
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13 November 2014, 22:49
Geagea: If the Constitutional Council decides to shorten the extension period, we are with going to elections, even under the 1960 law.
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13 November 2014, 22:48
Geagea: The appeal filed against extension was a "folkloric step" and I hope the Constitutional Council will shorten the extension period.
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13 November 2014, 22:47
Geagea: We are with the hybrid law on which we agreed with al-Mustaqbal and the PSP because we had managed to secure a majority of votes for it.
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13 November 2014, 22:41
Geagea: 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?
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13 November 2014, 22:33
Geagea: I fully support (ex-)president Suleiman's proposal on amending some articles of the Taef Accord.
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13 November 2014, 22:30
Geagea: 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.
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13 November 2014, 22:29
Geagea: Unfortunately, there are two blocs that are obstructing everything -- Hizbullah and the Change and Reform bloc.
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13 November 2014, 22:27
Geagea: 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.
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13 November 2014, 22:12
Geagea: I did not use the proper term when I described the ISIL as a "big lie" and I meant to say that the scare tactics were not reasonable and that we were not afraid of the ISIL.
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13 November 2014, 22:10
Geagea: 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.
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13 November 2014, 22:07
Geagea: I'm not convinced of the reasons announced by the interior minister to postpone the elections and it would have been better to hold the elections.
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13 November 2014, 22:06
Geagea: We must become accustomed to holding elections regardless of the security situations.
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13 November 2014, 22:03
Geagea: 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.
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13 November 2014, 22:02
Geagea: The issue of extension was not raised even for a single moment in Saudi Arabia and I agreed with Hariri that I would not vote for extension, but the circumstances changed in Beirut.
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13 November 2014, 21:54
Geagea: 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.
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13 November 2014, 21:54
Geagea: Speaker 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.
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13 November 2014, 21:53
Geagea: Aoun opposed the Orthodox Gathering law when we proposed it in Bkirki.
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13 November 2014, 21:51
Geagea: It was not Aoun who proposed the Orthodox Gathering law, we did.
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13 November 2014, 21:49
Geagea: What was the Lebanese Forces supposed to do other than attending all the electoral sessions?
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13 November 2014, 21:48
Geagea: How can one say that the Aoun-Geagea competition has torpedoed the presidential vote?
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13 November 2014, 21:46
Geagea: I don't think the health ministry is trying to take vengeance on anyone, that's why Abu Faour should have set standards from the very first moment he assumed his duties at the ministry. A single sample is not sufficient in order to make generalizations regarding any firm.
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13 November 2014, 21:42
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in an interview on LBCI: What Minister Wael Abu Faour did should be an example to follow by all ministers.
14 November 2014, 01:21
62
Nice t-shirt FT, you know the site you got it from is a pro-=Zionist ant Hezbollah website.
14 November 2014, 12:49
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1/ it would be logic that the new president be elected under the same parliament that should have elected him since suleiman's deparure but then resign right after the election...
2/ it is also not normal to extend the parliament after its mandate and for 2 years!
=> it proves only one thing : each camp is adopting what suits it best, thinking only of THEIR interests... and as usual not to the interest of the country and sheep still follow those crooks rather than taking to the streets and revolt against this system and these warlords....
