Gemayel Fears Obstruction of Presidential Polls Aimed at Altering Lebanese Entity
Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel condemned on Sunday the ongoing vacuum in the presidency, calling for holding a dialogue session in order to elect a president.
He said: “We fear that the unconstitutional obstruction of the polls is aimed at paving the way to altering the Lebanese entity.”
He made his remarks during a speech marking the 78th anniversary of the establishment of the Kataeb Party.
“The role of foreign forces in Lebanon is over, so why are we still relying on them?” he wondered.
“We must always remember that Lebanon is an independent entity and it should therefore not be dragged into regional conflicts,” stressed Gemayel.
“Failure to elect a president violates the Lebanese entity and we alone hold the decision to elect president, who can stay abreast of regional developments,” he added.
“No one in Lebanon will be spared from the risk of failing to elect a president,” he warned.
“We should therefore meet over dialogue,” Gemayel stated.
“We have long had Lebanon's unity and Muslim-Christian coexistence at heart,” added the Kataeb Party chief.
“All groups of the Middle East have opted for division, while we will remain committed to Lebanon's unity,” he said.
“The Kataeb Party pledges to remain faithful to its history and the blood of its martyrs and those of Lebanon,” he declared.
Lebanon has been without a president since May when the term of Michel Suleiman ended.
Disputes between the March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate has led to the vacuum.
Hizbullah and the Change and Reform blocs have been boycotting the elections sessions at parliament over the ongoing dispute over a compromise candidate.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, who is also a presidential candidate, has accused Hizbullah and the Change and Reform bloc of adopting the boycott in order to blackmail political powers into electing bloc chief Michel Aoun as president.
M.T.
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