Bou Saab: Presidential efforts fruitless but communication ongoing

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab has lamented that the latest efforts to break the presidential deadlock have been fruitless while noting that “communication is still ongoing.”

“I’m not carrying an initiative and I’m not promoting presidential candidates, but as MPs we cannot continue to stand idly by and my responsibility as deputy speaker obliges me to communicate with the rest of the MPs to try to do something,” Boy Saab said in an interview with LBCI television.

“I have not quit the Strong Lebanon bloc and I’m communicating with all blocs to extend bridges and find common denominators, because the solution lies in communication,” Bou Saab added.

He also voiced support for FPM chief Jebran Bassil’s current stance on the presidential vote.

“He does not support the confrontation candidate (Michel Mouawad) nor the (Axis of) Defiance candidate (Suleiman Franjieh) and Strong Lebanon is committed to not provoking any camp,” Bou Saab said.

And noting that “there is no trust between Bassil and (Lebanese Forces leader Samir) Geagea,” the Deputy Speaker said he would not hesitate to grant his vote to any candidate who might require a single vote to become president, especially if he might be Franjieh.