Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat urged al-Mustaqbal movement chief Saad Hariri to return to Lebanon soon as “there are no excuses that could justify his absence.”

“I call on Hariri to return and head an all-embracing cabinet (after the election of a new president) to avert further tension and crises,” Jumblat said in an interview with As Safir newspaper.

Western countries urged Lebanese officials on Friday to elect a new president within the constitutional deadline, voicing fear of vacuum at the helm of the country's highest Christian post, which will have negative impacts on Lebanon.

Informed sources reiterated in comments published in As Safir newspaper the U.S. administration's stance, which highlights the importance of “carrying out the polls on time and avoid vacuum.”

Speaker Nabih Berri said the first round of the presidential elections was a “rehearsal,” adding that the parliamentary session next week would be aimed at electing the new head of state.

In remarks to As Safir daily published on Friday, Berri said: “The real session next week won't be a session (aimed at knowing) the candidates.”

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed Thursday that he will stay in the presidential race “until the end” regardless of the candidacy of Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun.

“I will carry on with my nomination until the end and this has nothing to do with General Aoun's candidacy,” Geagea told LBCI television, during a weekly show dedicated to interviewing the major presidential hopefuls.

The Lebanese Forces bloc thanked on Thursday lawmakers for placing their trust in LF chief Samir Geagea during the first round of the presidential elections a day earlier.

The bloc said in a short statement that the “precious trust … was an essential motive for him to stay in the battle for the presidency.”

The March 14 alliance is mulling to adopt the candidacy of another official in the run for presidency after Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea failed to garner the required parliamentary votes.

Sources close to the coalition said in remarks published in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that the March 14 leadership is reconsidering its options after the first round of voting.

Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel condemned Wednesday the move of a yet unidentified MP who had cast a ballot carrying his name during the first round of the presidential vote, confirming that all of his party's MPs voted for Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea.

“The five MPs of Kataeb voted for Dr. Samir Geagea,” Gemayel said in an interview with LBCI television in the evening.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea hailed on Wednesday the March 14 camp on the success of the first round of the presidential elections, saying that it restored dignity to the polls after years of foreign meddling.

He remarked: “We will not acquiesce to a settlement over the presidential elections and we will continue with the democratic process until the end.”

Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi announced on Wednesday that Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel is a candidate for the second parliamentary session set to elect a new president, stressing that the March 14 alliance will cast votes to Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in the first round.

“Gemayel has been a candidate for months... Discussions are focusing on how to secure his victory... The upcoming stage will determine when he enters the presidential race,” Qazzi said.

Lawmakers failed to elect a new president on Wednesday, the result of rivalry between the March 8 and 14 camps as no candidate was able to garner the needed two-thirds of votes to become Lebanon's next head of state.

Speaker Nabih Berri chaired the session at noon Wednesday after 124 MPs attended it, securing the required two-thirds quorum.