Gemayel Says Won't Vote for Franjieh or Aoun over Fears of 'Confrontation with Region'

Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel stressed Wednesday that his party's parliamentary bloc will not vote for Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh or Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun in the presidency elections.

“What would we do if Aoun becomes president? We do not have the right to send the citizens to the unknown, seeing as we have a problem with his political principles and his vision of Lebanon as part of an axis,” said Gemayel during an interview on Future TV.

“Why should we surrender and why should we give the presidency to Hizbullah? Why would we hand over the State to March 8 after all the perseverance we showed for years?” Gemayel asked.

“We will not vote for Suleiman Franjieh and we were clear with him and with Aoun. We do not have a personal problem with them but we fear for the country's interest,” he added.

“What would we win if we push the Sunni community to extremism and the country to a confrontation with the (Arab) region?” Gemayel asked, citing the latest Saudi measures against Lebanon that the kingdom attributed to “hostile” stances by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil – the FPM chief and Aoun's son-in-law.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and the FPM, Hizbullah and some of their allies have been boycotting the electoral sessions.

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri launched late in 2015 a proposal to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his suggestion was rejected by the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

The Hizbullah-led March 8 camp, as well as March 14's Lebanese Forces, have argued that Aoun is more eligible than Franjieh to become president given the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Y.R.