Geagea says opposition camp to agree on presidential candidate within weeks
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has said that the LF does not want a presidential vacuum, noting that it is Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil who "does not want to endorse any president but himself."
"Hezbollah does not want to lose Bassil but it does not want him as president, that's why Hezbollah is stuck with this riddle, because it does not want to abandon Bassil in order not to lose the cover that the FPM provides for it," Geagea added, in an interview with MTV.
"Hezbollah is confined in the presidential file because the 'defiance camp' has an essential problem, which is Jebran Bassil's nomination," the LF leader said.
He added that the other camp, which brings together "the LF, the group of Sunni MPs, the change and independent MPs, the Pogressive Socialist Party and the Kataeb Party," has held a series of contacts and meetings over the past ten days.
"We are supposed to reach within the coming weeks to a candidate after discussing several names, and we're on a positive course and the indications are good," Geagea added.
Revealing that two to three candidates are being considered, Geagea said MP Michel Mouawad is eligible to become president but that the opposition camp is "not proposing names at the moment."
"I have sensed an intention by the opposition parties to reach unity over a single candidate and efforts are not concentrated on this issue," Geagea said.
As for the possibility that President Michel Aoun might stay in the Baabda Palace after the end of his term, Geagea said that, according to his information, Aoun will not stay in the palace post Oct. 31.
"If he stays in the palace, he will become a citizen who is violating the law," Geagea added, while noting that his party would not engage in street protests should such a scenario materialize.
As for his meeting with Tracy Chamoun, Geagea said that she informed him of her intention to run for president and that she is "among the names" that are being mulled by the opposition camp.
Source: Naharnet
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