Franjieh Vows Anew to Stay in Presidential Race

Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh has vowed once again that he will not withdraw from the presidential race.

“I'm a candidate and I will not back down and let the ballot box have the final say on October 31,” Franjieh tweeted.

This is not the first time that Franjieh has insisted on his nomination in recent weeks.

The new stance comes amid a flurry of media reports suggesting that the chances of Franjieh's electoral rival, Free Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun, have largely surged in recent days.

According to Education Minister Elias Bou Saab of the FPM, al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri has decided to endorse Aoun's presidential bid.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.