Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea said on Thursday that he was ready to mull his pullout from the presidential race if a deal was reached to back the candidacy of another March 14 alliance member.

“I will discuss the withdrawal of my candidacy from the presidential elections if there was an agreement on another official from March 14,” Geagea said following talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused on Wednesday the March 8 alliance of seeking to impose its candidate over others, slamming its demand for the election of a consensual president.

He said during a press conference after the failure of the third round of the presidential elections: “The boycott of the session is not aimed at the election of a consensual president, but it has the objective to impose a candidate over others.”

Parliament failed on Wednesday for the third week in a row to elect a new president over differences between the March 8 and 14 alliances and amid warnings of a possible vacuum at Baabda Palace, more than two weeks before the expiry of President Michel Suleiman's tenure.

Speaker Nabih Berri set May 15 as a new round of voting after the March 8 lawmakers again boycotted the elections.

Kataeb party leader Amin Gemayel and Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun agreed Wednesday on the importance of holding the presidential elections by May 25.

Following talks with Aoun at his residence in Rabieh, Gemayel said: “We agreed on the importance of exerting all efforts to hold the polls as soon as possible.”

Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi said that Kataeb leader Amin Gemayel has suspended his candidacy for the presidency pending the result of parliamentary sessions to elect a new head of state.

In remarks to the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah daily on Wednesday, Qazzi said: “Gemayel suspended his candidacy until he finds out the course that the election sessions would take.”

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has reportedly claimed that Prime Minister Tammam Salam's government would practice the power of the president in case of a vacuum at Baabda Palace.

Pan-Arab daily al-Hahat quoted him as saying on Wednesday that there would be no vacuum given that Salam's cabinet is capable of taking over the president's authorities if lawmakers failed to elect a new head of state.

Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel stressed Tuesday the need to elect a president who would “fully reassure Christians and the Lebanese,” urging respect for the constitutional timeframe which ends on May 25.

“At the moment, our objective is to rescue the republic before it's too late and this would begin by electing a president within the constitutional timeframe,” Gemayel said after meeting Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc urged the March 8 camp to announce its candidate for the presidency so that he competes in the third round of the elections on Wednesday.

The bloc, which held its weekly meeting under MP Fouad Saniora on Tuesday, stressed that it “backed the candidacy of Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea in accordance with the agreement (reached) in the March 14 alliance and called on March 8 to announce its candidate to hold competitive elections.”

MP Boutros Harb stated on Monday that no political figure should run for office without the consensus of the March 14 coalition, explaining that this would hinder the alliance's chances of victory in the presidential race.

"Any Lebanese Maronite who thinks that they are competent can run for office," Harb said after meeting with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab.

Kataeb party leader Amin Gemayel is expected on Monday to officially announce his candidacy for the presidency, al-Liwaa newspaper reported.

The daily said that the announcement would be made after the weekly meeting of the party's politburo at its headquarters in Saifi and following planned talks with Metn MP Michel al-Murr.