Naharnet

Geagea after Meeting al-Rahi: There is a 'War of Elimination' on Presidency

Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea expressed pessimism on Tuesday on the ability of rival parties to elect a new president, saying he was not seeing light at the end of the tunnel amid an ongoing “war of elimination.”

“The patriarch hasn't been able to convince MP Michel Aoun to attend electoral sessions,” Geagea said following talks with Cardinal Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki.

There is a “war of elimination” on the post of the presidency, he said, adding “no one is allowed to paralyze the country as a means to increase his chances” to reach Baabda Palace.

Geagea has slammed the boycott of Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and most of the March 8 camp's MPs of legislative sessions aimed at electing a president.

Unlike the LF chief, Aoun has refused to announce his candidacy for the presidency, saying there should first be consensus on him.

But the March 14 alliance continued to back Geagea, and its members remained adamant to head to parliament to elect a president despite the lack of the needed two-thirds quorum.

The dispute between the March 8 and 14 camps led to a vacuum at Baabda Palace after President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended on May 25.

Geagea said he was “not yet seeing any light at the end of the tunnel although the solution is in our hands.”

He said earlier this month that March 14 was ready to agree with March 8 on narrowing down the presidential race to two candidates.

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