Geagea Says LF Won't Quit Parliament without Allies, Urges 'Neutral Govt.'
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday announced that the LF’s 15 lawmakers will not resign from parliament without their allies in al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party.
“Any resignations that would not lead to toppling the current legislature would be a lost effort. If we do such a move, we would be strengthening the current ruling authority instead of weakening it,” Geagea said at a press conference.
“If their majority rises to 95 seats, they would have the ability to modify the electoral law, amend the constitution the way they want and elect a president from the first round,” the LF leader explained.
He revealed that, on Monday, the LF was about to reach an agreement on the resignations with Mustaqbal and the PSP.
“We even discussed the details of the resignation announcement, but, unfortunately, it turned out that the government was prepared to resign, and Mustaqbal and the PSP preferred to wait instead of resigning,” Geagea said.
He however added that the LF will keep pushing for ousting parliament and organizing early elections, calling on Mustaqbal and the PSP to endorse his call for resigning.
“If they don’t want to resign by tomorrow, I will urge the resigned MPs to withdraw their resignations prior to tomorrow’s session, or else they would enter into effect. I especially urge the Kataeb Party, and I have communicated with its leader MP Sami Gemayel about that… because we can make an impact inside parliament during this stage,” Geagea went on to say.
And noting that the LF will not take part in Thursday’s parliamentary session, the LF chief said: “We demand an international panel of inquiry, and if this demand is not achieved, we will submit a petition demanding an international probe and the shortening of parliament’s term.”
Geagea also said that “shortening parliament’s term, reconstructing areas affected by the blast, the issue of neutrality proposed by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and reforms, reforms, reforms should top the agenda of the new government.”
Asked about the possibility of the formation of a national unity government, Geagea said: “We are not with national unity governments, seeing as they are neither governments nor national.”
As for the possibility of nominating ex-PM Saad Hariri to lead the new government, the LF leader said: “We’re with a totally new, totally independent and totally neutral government.”
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/274131 |