Lebanese Forces to Announce Candidates for Parliament on Wednesday

The Lebanese Forces is expected to declare the party's candidates and electoral program in the parliamentary elections on Wednesday, amid reports claiming that negotiations to strike a coalition with its once-ally al-Mustaqbal Movement still “suffer a setback,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

“The LF negotiations with Mustaqbal are still facing a setback, but they are ongoing although their success chances are decreasing with regard to achieving the desired result in some districts,” LF sources told the daily.

They added: “LF chief Samir Geagea has handed over the party's electoral proposal on Friday to the Mustaqbal chief (and PM) Saad Hariri, hours after he received Mustaqbal's suggestion through its delegate Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury.”

Khoury was dispatched by Hariri to hold talks with Geagea last week. His visit to Maarab (Geagea residence) gave the impression of “all is well” relation after-which he announced an alliance between the two in the Chouf and Aley districts.

However, Sunday reports said that “contacts over the past two days between the Center House (Hariri's residence) and Maarab have failed to achieve any notable progress.”

Mustaqbal-LF ties took a U-turn in November after Hariri's resignation from Riyadh which he rescinded later. Reports have alleged that Geagea was partly to blame for the move.