March 14 Holds onto Geagea but Says Ready to Negotiate on Compromise Candidate
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The March 14 alliance on Tuesday kept its support for Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea but said it was ready to agree on another consensual candidate for the presidential elections.
Al-Mustaqbal bloc leader Fouad Saniora announced the initiative along with LF lawmaker George Adwan during a press conference they held at the parliament.
“Out of its keenness to hold the elections, the March 14 alliance calls for the respect of constitutional deadlines and the rotation of power,” Saniora told reporters minutes after Speaker Nabih Berri adjourned a parliamentary session aimed at electing a president.
The March 14 alliance holds onto the candidacy of Geagea, the lawmaker said but expressed the camp's “full readiness to discuss with the rest of the factions the name of a person who receives the backing of all the Lebanese and who is committed to the country's principles.”
“Contacts aimed at reaching a settlement based on the Taef accord start with the immediate election of a president,” Saniora added.
Adwan said after Saniora: “It was compelling for us to open the door for a compromise president to salvage Lebanon.”
The LF MP stressed that the rival parties “are capable of putting their differences aside to open the door of settlement.”
After the announcement of the March 14's initiative, Geagea stressed that he had repeatedly said he wasn't the sole candidate.
“I have never said either me or no one else,” Geagea told reporters at his residence in Maarab.
The majority of the March 8 alliance's MPs, including Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Aoun's Change and Reform bloc, have been boycotting the parliamentary sessions aimed at electing a president, causing a lack of quorum.
Tuesday's session had a similar fate. But Berri set September 23 as a new date for the election of a head of state.
The majority of the March 8 camp's officials have claimed that there should be an agreement on a compromise candidate before heading to the polls. But their boycott is a clear message of rejection to Geagea's candidacy.
Aoun has not officially announced that he was running for the polls, claiming there should be a compromise on him first.
The disagreements among the rival parties and the parliamentary blocs have left the country's top Christian post vacant.
President Michel Suleiman's six-year tenure ended in May.
G.K.
M.T.
02 September 2014, 11:12
96
I don't like it or dislike it habboub... I just think that you're a pathetic creature that's all :)
02 September 2014, 11:24
41
the patriot and FT
now that you're done with your morning greetings get serious and get in to your daily routine i.e. the mutual M8 and M14 mutual blame...:-)
02 September 2014, 15:09
23
cool... this has nothing to do with politics... and I have no "daily routine" here...
02 September 2014, 15:53
00
aren't you tired of voting, commenting, voting, reporting. When will you have a life?! Do you see the sun often?
02 September 2014, 11:38
24
empty insults and critics, is that all you have to say ? you should feel sorry for yourself.
02 September 2014, 14:26
53
The only reason Geagea announced his candidacy was to neutralise Aoun's chances. Let there be parliamentary elections first and then the new parliament can elect a president that is representative of the people. The parliament extension was wrong and the president should be elected after new elections. They know M14 and Geagea will be taught a big lesson!
02 September 2014, 15:31
43
Glad it's starting to make sense to you why they decided to extend their own parliamentary jobs and salaries. The reason the President of the Republic is elected every 6 years and parliament every 3 is so a newly elected parliament of the people, then elects a President. Postponing parliamentary elections 18 months ago was wrong and was done so to deny the Lebanese people their chance to indirectly elect a new President through their newly elected representatives in parliament.
02 September 2014, 14:48
44
peacelover. Agreed. I believe that the FPM should win Batroun, Ashrafieh and will definitely win Zahle. Zahle alone will shift the balance. Jumblatt knows this and that is why he is pushing for a further postponement so as to stay relevant.
If I'm wrong and its the other way round then so be it and Geagea or a M14 candidate should become president.
I think an Aoun President and Hariri Prime MInistership is best to unite lebanon. Otherwise General Khawagie and Salam remaining PM as compromise. But Lebanon doesn't need compromise at the moment... Lebanon needs strength through a leadership of the strongest and most popular sectarian leaders to unite Lebanon!
02 September 2014, 15:59
06
Roar... if parliamentary elections are held and M14 hold zahle, batroun and ashrafieh then the Christains have decided on a M14 allied president. Simple. what u afraid of? The general's shoe is no better than mine or yours.
02 September 2014, 16:17
43
and you know what, if we can't have elections in Lebanon or referendums
we'll do in Syria as well. after all Assad has just staged a perfect democratic play where the number of voters exceeded the number of country residents AGAIN and he won AGAIN
w let's merge people, armies and countries after we kill all who think differently
wala haram, the general could have avoided living in exile had he been a traitor in the 1990s
02 September 2014, 16:20
44
back then we needed to collaborate -hand over the country, its sovereignty and freedom- to protect us from Palestinians
now we just added the Takfiri adjective and surrender again
you know, all that your precious general -who is no different than Antoine lahd- share with Degaulle is his MEGALOMANIA
as the second never ceased to fight for a sovereign french state while the traitor never ceased to seeking out power
02 September 2014, 18:21
22
lol peacelover, geagea to defend hezbollah, now we have heard it all :D
just to be serious for a second, the repented war criminal, fake doctor and real butcher already said if he became president he would start by attacking hezbollah, so take it easy on bcharreh weed.
02 September 2014, 19:23
41
really? and tomorrow when the general will need medical treatment he will go to teheran? or seek western medicine? how do we say "debile" in farsi?
02 September 2014, 20:10
20
Again tric, integrate and assimilate with your society instead of living in lalaland perceiving yourself different and above other people where everyone is equal
In iraq, everyone was persecuted and u even got pissed when the intetnational community intervened when yazidis and kurds were threatened
In syria, christians allied with teh dictator bc he treated them well "bits and pieces of leftovers" while it was and still is ok for them to see neigjbors, friends nad colleagues exterminated
In egypt, they sided with mubarak against all odds
Bottom line, nature rules and favors the survival of the fittest
So if not for humanitarian values, the smart call would be to side with the majority not the dictator
Or they will keep losing
Plus where were you when christians were oersecuted after iraq's invasion
To my knowledge and experience, they are still living in z3aytriye and fanar where children are exposed to different abuses
Walla u only support christians with propaganda?
02 September 2014, 21:44
00
EXACTLY tric, GMA saved the Christians...i would add to your comment 'a long time ago' ! Thank God. And there is no way to challenge it...even though there are few ones trying it ...but they (we all know who they are) still didn't understand...so they keep trying, ...and keep trying...and keep trying...
02 September 2014, 21:53
00
EXACTLY tric, GMA saved the Christians...i would add to your comment 'a long time ago' ! Thank God. And there is no way to challenge it...even though there are few ones trying it ...but they (we all know who they are) still didn't understand...so they keep trying, ...and keep trying...and keep trying...
02 September 2014, 21:58
00
EXACTLY tric, GMA saved the Christians...i would add to your comment 'a long time ago' ! Thank God. And there is no way to challenge it...even though there are few ones trying it ...but they (we all know who they are) still didn't understand...so they keep trying, ...and keep trying...and keep trying...
03 September 2014, 04:33
00
get a retired general who is sober on country conditions and forget about those old turkeys becacuse not one care what they do.
choose a priest and make him a presedent at least prosperity will hit the roof.
