Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea lamented on Thursday the political powers' failure to elect a president following the obstruction of quorum for the fourth time by the March 8 alliance.
He said during a press conference: “We must exert efforts with all sides in order to limit the period of presidential vacuum as much as possible.”
Full StoryMaronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi called on the parliament on Wednesday to rise to the level of “up to the national juncture” through electing a new president, considering that closing the door of the presidential palace is a “shame.”
"I urge the parliament to rise to the level of the national juncture and preserve the dignity of Lebanon and its people through electing a new president,” al-Rahi stated in an interview on Future television.
Full StoryLebanese Forces leader and presidential candidate Samir Geagea hoped on Wednesday that Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun would attend Thursday's parliamentary session at the parliament to elect a new head of state.
"I wish Aoun would attend Thursday's session, and if he gains the majority of votes I will be the first to congratulate him,” Geagea said after meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki.
Full StoryLebanese Forces leader and presidential candidate Samir Geagea on Tuesday announced that he stands “at the same distance” from all political parties, including Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement, while accusing FPM's supporters of twisting his remarks about his meeting with former premier Saad Hariri.
“I don't think I was misunderstood, but some parties deliberately interpreted my remarks in that manner, as (FPM chief) General (Michel) Aoun's supporters are really wishing to obtain the support of the March 14 forces and ex-PM Hariri for their candidate and they're hoping Aoun will be elected president,” Geagea said in an interview in Paris with Radio Orient.
Full StoryLebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea reiterated readiness to withdraw his candidacy from the presidency in favor of another March 14 candidate, expressing belief that Thursday's parliamentary session will be similar to its predecessors.
“I am not holding onto anything personal at all,” Geagea said in an interview with the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Tuesday.
Full StoryPresident Michel Suleiman has expressed fears that a top member of either the March 8 or 14 alliance would use his power in the country's top Christian post to take vengeance from his foes if he was elected president.
In an interview with As Safir newspaper published on Tuesday, Suleiman said: “I am afraid that one of them could come into office so that he takes vengeance from the others.”
Full StoryLebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday said his Paris talks with former premier Saad Hariri tackled MP Michel Aoun's presidential nomination and the fact that the Free Patriotic Movement leader has proposed himself as a “consensual” candidate.
"I demonstrated with ex-PM Saad Hariri all the aspects of the political process related to the presidential vote and we discussed all the possible solutions to the crisis and raised all the possibilities," Geagea said during a press conference in the French capital, according to a statement distributed by the LF's media department.
Full StoryThe Change and Reform lawmakers will vote for the head of the bloc, Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun, in the fifth round of the presidential elections despite an expected final decision by al-Mustaqbal movement not to back his candidacy.
An Nahar newspaper said Monday that the MPs, who have boycotted the previous rounds of the polls, will head to parliament on Thursday and vote for Aoun to avoid the criticism of paralyzing the elections and causing a vacuum at Baabda Palace.
Full StorySaudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Asiri has denied that Riyadh's grant to the Lebanese army was targeted at Hizbullah and its allies, stressing that rapprochement between the rival parties would pave way for the election of a “made in Lebanon president.”
“Isn't the Lebanese army for all of Lebanon and the Lebanese?” he asked in an interview published on Monday.
Full StoryLebanese Forces leader and presidential candidate Samir Geagea held talks Sunday with al-Mustaqbal movement chief MP Saad Hariri in the French capital Paris, amid a flurry of political talks over the stalled presidential vote.
“Ex-PM Hariri is currently meeting Geagea over a lunch banquet in Paris,” Hariri's mouthpiece Future TV announced in the afternoon.
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