Members of Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat's parliamentary bloc will reportedly submit their candidacies for the upcoming general elections.

Sources close to Jumblat said in comments published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Sunday that the lawmakers of the National Struggle Front will run for the elections, including MP Ghazi al-Aridi.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday called for fortifying the “Lebanese domestic front,” warning that some parties might exploit religion to create a fertile environment for “the growth and proliferation of extremist ideologies.”

Sisi voiced his remarks during a meeting in Cairo with Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat, who was accompanied by a delegation from his Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc.

The March 8 alliance and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat completely reject any bargain in the case of the abducted Lebanese security personnel, As Safir newspaper reported on Wednesday.

“No agreement (with gunmen) will be made,” sources close to the March 8 coalition told the newspaper, warning of the risks posed by such a demeanor.

Speaker Nabih Berri has suspended efforts he was exerting with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat to resolve the presidential deadlock after the March 14 alliance announced a new initiative.

Berri told several officials who visited him on Tuesday that he and Jumblat were severely criticized when the PSP chief said he was in contact with the speaker and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to convince the rival parties to swiftly elect a new president.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat called on Monday for the swift trial of the Islamist gunmen to reduce tension in the country, rejecting any attempts to exchange the abducted security personnel with Islamist inmates.

He slammed the judiciary, considering if it didn't neglect the trials of the Islamist prisoners, it would have averted a crisis.

Progressive Socialist Party Leader Walid Jumblat proposed the candidacy of former Minister Jean Obeid for the presidency, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday.

According to the daily, Jumblat expressed his ultimate backing to Obeid.

Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat has held telephone conversations with Christian leaders ahead of his private visit abroad, An Nahar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Jumblat inquired on Tuesday the unidentified officials on the possibility of reaching a breakthrough in the presidential crisis following his return to Beirut, it said.

Progressive Socialist Party Leader Walid Jumblat postponed his upcoming meetings with senior Lebanese officials after he surprisingly left Beirut.

Al-Liwaa newspaper, published on Tuesday, said that the destination of Jumblat is unknown, despite rumors saying that he headed to the French capital Paris for talks with al-Mustaqbal chief Saad Hariri.

Speaker Nabih Berri has stayed mum on efforts he is exerting along with Progressive Socialist Party chief MP Walid Jumblat to resolve the presidential deadlock.

Local newspapers quoted Berri as saying on Monday that he “cannot talk about any possible progress to guarantee the success of the work we are doing.”

Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Sunday that the fight against the Islamic State group is still “at the beginning,” as Lebanese Democratic Party chief MP Talal Arslan said there is a “unified stance” with the head of the Progressive Socialist Party in the face of the “impending danger.”

“Political diversity in Baisour is valuable for Lebanon and the nation and we must preserve diversity in order to boost stability and fight the takfiris,” said Jumblat during a joint visit with Arslan to the Aley District town.