Saniora: We Extend our Hand to Hold Dialogue to Agree on President

Head of the Mustaqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora stressed on Sunday that the election of a president should be a priority at this present time in Lebanon.

He stated: “Our hand is extended to hold dialogue in order to reach an agreement over a new president.”

He made his remarks during a meeting of Our Lady of the Mountain Gathering.

“The new president should represent national unity, respect the constitution and Baabda Declaration, and unite the people,” added the former premier.

Moreover, Saniora rejected the spread of Islamist extremism in the region, emphasizing the need to protect Lebanon from it.

“We should concentrate on how to protect our country,” he declared.

“We would not have reached this stage in Lebanon had the Syrian regime not practiced terrorism and had Lebanese parties not intervened in the Syrian conflict,” he noted before the gatherers.

“I am a Lebanese Arabist Muslim and I share no traits with those who claim to adhere to Islam and commit crimes in its name,” he stressed.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May.

The March 14 alliance has voiced its backing of candidate Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat proposed the nomination of candidate Henri Helou, while the March 8 camp has yet to announce its candidate.

Free Patriotic Movement MP Michel Aoun, who has not declared his nomination, has repeatedly said that he would run in the elections is there was agreement over him.

Several elections sessions have been held, but they were not staged due to a lack of quorum at parliament over a boycott by the Hizbullah and Change and Reform blocks over the disagreement over a consensual president.

Geagea accused the March 8 camp of adopting the boycott to blackmail political powers into electing Aoun president.