Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil has stressed that the FPM will not endorse the presidential nomination of Marada Movement leader Suleiman Franjieh, even if all other parties agree on him.

“The FPM would not lose if Suleiman Franjieh becomes president… and he does not represent a threat to us,” Bassil is heard telling supporters in a leaked audio recorded during his ongoing visit to Paris.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's press office said Thursday that the situation in 1990 was better than the Aoun-Bassil-Jreissati era of the past six years.

Bassil had said in a leaked audio from Paris that electing Marada leader Suleiman Franjieh as a president will bring Lebanon back to the nineties.

The Constitutional Council on Thursday dismissed two more electoral appeals filed over the results of the May 15 parliamentary elections.

The first appeal had been filed by the candidate Wassef al-Harakeh against MP Fadi Alameh over the Shiite seat in Baabda.

"It's a complete deadlock," change lawmaker Mark Daou told AFP, after parliament failed Thursday to elect a president for the sixth time. "We will not have a president before next year."

Lawmaker Michel Mouawad, who is seen as close to the United States, won the support of 43 of parliament's 128 MPs. But his tally was outnumbered by the 45 blank ballots cast by pro-Hezbollah lawmakers and fell well short of the margin needed for victory.

French officials are seeking to reach “an urgent presidential settlement” in Lebanon “before the end of the year,” sources informed on Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil’s visit to Paris have said.

“Accordingly, it was necessary to try to convince Bassil with endorsing it, seeing as he represents the biggest obstacle in the way of the election of a new president,” the sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper in remarks published Thursday.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri will call for a legislative session whenever the need arises, he told al-Joumhouria newspaper, in remarks published Thursday.

Many MPs including al-Kataeb and Change MPS, Michel Mouawad and other independent lawmakers had criticized a parliamentary session that discussed a letter by ex-President Michel Aoun. They walked out after voicing their objection.

Parliament convened Thursday for the sixth time and failed again to elect a president, with the post vacant since the mandate of Michel Aoun expired last month.

Parliament is split between supporters of Hezbollah and its opponents, neither having a clear majority.

Consultations are ongoing between the U.S., France and Saudi Arabia to reach a “framework agreement” over the new Lebanese president, in coordination with Egypt and a number of regional countries, highly informed sources said.

“Meetings were held on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia to review what needs to be done in order not to prolong the presidential void,” the sources told al-Liwaa newspaper in remarks published Wednesday, noting that French President Emmanuel Macron is coordinating with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in this regard.

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea on Wednesday said he rejects the “equation” of electing a president who is “close to Hezbollah” and designating “a PM who is close to the other camp.”

“The Hezbollah camp and our camp represent two parallel lines that will not meet until further notice. I hope Hezbollah will tomorrow change its political project and give up its ideology, which would allow us to meet within five minutes, but as things are now, there are totally opposite political projects,” Geagea said in an interview with the Akhbar al-Yawm news agency.

Although France does not have a comprehensive initiative concerning the Lebanese presidential elections, it is exploring the stances of the various parties in a bid to secure consensus among them, media reports said.

In remarks published Wednesday, Al-Akhbar newspaper reported that France is keen on reaching an agreement with Saudi Arabia that would facilitate the election of a president.