Report: Franjieh Gearing Up for Withdrawal from March 8

Marada chief MP Suleiman Franjieh seems to be preparing for his withdrawal from the March 8 camp but without giving up on the relations with the alliance, the Kuwaiti al-Anba daily reported on Sunday.

“Marada chief Franjieh is preparing the step of withdrawal from the March 8 as a confirmation of his political independence from any internal alignments but without giving up on the relations with the said alliance and its political visions,” reported the daily.

“Franjieh wants to position himself as a centrist which would help enhance the chances of accepting him as a consensual candidate for the post of the presidency, particularly that the campaigns of head of the Change and Reform bloc Michel Aoun and his allies did not take into consolidation that Franjieh is their ally too,” sources told the daily.

Franjieh has emerged lately as a candidate for the top state post that has been vacant for nineteen months since the term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014.

Lawmakers failed to secure the needed quorum for electing a new president despite holding tens of voting sessions, amid a boycott by the MPs of Aoun and Hizbullah.

The initiative for Franjieh's nomination emerged by Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri but has been met with reservations from the Kataeb Party, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces.

Aoun, and Franjieh are both candidates of the March 8 and LF chief Samir Geagea is a candidate of March 14.