Kanaan Says Dialogue with LF Aims at Lebanonizing Presidential Elections
Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan denied that the upcoming dialogue between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces is a direct result of the talks between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement, stressing it aims at finding a presidential candidate without the interference of outside powers.
“Talks with the LF is not a reaction to the ongoing dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal,” Kanaan told al-Liwaa newspaper in an interview published on Monday.
“The dialogue has been going on for months,” he said.
The lawmaker made his claim after Speaker Nabih Berri told his visitors that possible talks between FPM leader MP Michel Aoun and LF chief Samir Geagea are a “natural reaction” to the Sunni-Shiite dialogue.
The dialogue with the LF aims at “Lebanonizing” the election of the new president, said Kanaan.
The head of state should be consensual. Both Christians and Muslims should have a say in choosing a candidate, he told his interviewer.
“What we are currently doing with the LF … is preparing for such a result,” Kanaan said.
The dialogue also aims at rectifying the representation of Christians in the country's institutions, he said.
“The role of Christians should be consolidated. That's why Christian-Christian ties should be regulated,” the MP told al-Liwaa.
Asked whether the discussions would focus on ways to amend the Taef Accord, Kanaan said: “We want the Taef to be implemented because we believe that it hasn't been respected for the past 24 years.”
“In our dialogue with the LF, we aim to correct the imbalance in the implementation of the Constitution,” he added.
Both Aoun and Geagea have announced their candidacies to the presidency. Their rivalry has left the Baabda Palace vacant.
Lebanon has been without a head of state since President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended in May.
Aoun on Sunday expressed optimism that the LF would vote for him in the presidential race, noting that the two parties will tackle the issue of the rights of Christians before moving to discuss the presidential void.
He refused, however, to give a final date or state the venue of his meeting with Geagea.
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