Geagea Says No Vetoes but LF Won't Give Any of Its Govt. Seats to Other Parties

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stressed Thursday that the LF “does not have a veto on anyone” while emphasizing that his party is not willing to give up any of its declared ministerial portfolios.

“We do not have a veto on anyone at all and we do not have a problem with any cabinet format,” Geagea said during a Maarab educational seminar.

“Some are claiming that the LF is vetoing some candidates and I openly tell everyone that we do not have a veto on anyone but meanwhile we will not accept to give up any of our ministerial seats in favor of a candidate from another party,” Geagea added.

“We in the LF do not have a problem if the cabinet is consisted of 24 or 30 ministers and we will not raise hell under both scenarios,” the LF leader went on to say.

Geagea however noted that a smaller cabinet would be more “productive and effective,” pointing out that “it is not a representative body” like parliament.

After a settlement was reached under which the Marada Movement would be given the public works portfolio and the LF would get the health portfolio, the cabinet formation process ran into new obstacles in the wake of the parties' decision to raise the number of seats from 24 to 30.

The parties are reportedly bickering over the six new candidates amid reservations over some controversial figures as well as over the shares of some parties.