Franjieh says can be elected with 65 votes but waiting for KSA support
Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh on Wednesday said that he prefers to wait for Saudi support for his presidential nomination.
“I will not go to a session in which I challenge Saudi Arabia, and maybe I can become president but I won’t be able to rule, that’s why I say that I’m not in a hurry and that the time will come,” Franjieh said in an interview on al-Jadeed TV.
“With calm calculations, I can be elected with 65 votes, but I won’t be able to rule, and the battle is not a battle of quorum but rather a battle of including everyone,” the Marada chief added.
“The settlement is coming and it must involve everyone, but we can’t force anyone to join it,” Franjieh went on to say.
“There will be good days in Lebanon and days of openness in the region,” he said.
As for the Saudi stance on his nomination, Franjieh said: “The atmosphere is relieving but the settlement has not been finalized yet. As for a negative atmosphere, I’m only hearing about it from Lebanese politicians.”
“When (French presidential advisor Patrick) Durel went to Saudi Arabia he informed me that the atmosphere was positive and I can believe the French,” the Marada leader added.
Noting that he has no problem if someone else gets elected, Franjieh stressed that it is not his nomination that is delaying the election of a president.
He added that he would resign as president should he find himself incapable of making achievements.
As for the issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Franjieh said that he is “not willing to conspire against Lebanon for the sake of Syria” but would rather “conspire against Syria for the sake of Lebanon.”
“I cannot accept that the refugees stay if (Syrian) President (Bashar) al-Assad does not accept their return although I know that he would accept it,” Franjieh added.
“If I manage to secure guarantees for the safety of the refugees in their country, we will be able to disregard the international community, seeing as that would be a patriotic stance,” Franjieh said.
