Geagea says rival camp won't allow electoral sessions in near future

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has suggested that the Hezbollah-led camp “wants to impose the election of Suleiman Franjieh as president, or else it will continue to obstruct the electoral process indefinitely.”

“This camp will not allow electoral sessions in the near future,” Geagea said, in an interview with Lebanon’s French-language daily L'Orient-Le Jour’.

“After several months of serious efforts by the (Axis of) Defiance camp to impose its candidate and improve the results of the votes it would get, Franjieh managed to receive only 51 votes, whereas Jihad Azour garnered 59 votes while present in Washington, away from the scene of local politics,” Geagea added.

“Moreover, the results of the two candidates did not surprise us, and we’re confident that the rival camp used all the possible and unimaginable means to boost its candidate’s result, that’s why we’re convinced that the time now is not for abandoning Azour but rather for bolstering him,” the LF leader went on to say.

Turning to the relation with Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, Geagea said the “confidence crisis with Bassil that lasted six years cannot be contained in six days.”

“The FPM leader wants to eliminate Franjieh from the race to Baabda, while we naturally reject the election of Hezbollah’s candidate as president. That’s why we have intersected on backing Azour, but this matter has nothing to do with another Maarab agreement,” Geagea explained.

He added that he believes that “should Hezbollah propose to Bassil a third candidate (other than Franjieh and Azour), he might endorse him.”

Separately, Geagea said that “Saudi Arabia is very serious in its call for the Lebanese to reach consensus and elect a new president for Lebanon, but they (Saudis) don’t want to interfere.”

“But after elections, they will voice their opinion,” Geagea added.