Gemayel Meets Geagea, Urges President Who'd 'Fully Reassure' Christians, Lebanese
Kataeb Party chief Amin Gemayel stressed Tuesday the need to elect a president who would “fully reassure Christians and the Lebanese,” urging respect for the constitutional timeframe which ends on May 25.
“At the moment, our objective is to rescue the republic before it's too late and this would begin by electing a president within the constitutional timeframe,” Gemayel said after meeting Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in Maarab.
“We want a president who would lead the country rather than manage the presidential palace. We want a president who would fully reassure Christians and the Lebanese,” Gemayel underlined.
He added that “in this plight that we're going through, the president is required to preserve real partnership in the country.”
Gemayel underscored that it is necessary for the president to “enjoy the confidence of Christians amid the circumstances that we're going through.”
Asked about March 14's candidate, Gemayel said: “Nothing has changed until the moment. LF leader Samir Geagea is our candidate.”
On Monday, Gemayel slammed attempts to impede the presidential elections, noting that some foreign powers are keener on the polls than Lebanese officials.
He revealed that he would begin Tuesday a series of meetings with political leaders in a bid to avert vacuum in the presidency.
The first round of the presidential elections was held on April 23 with Geagea and Democratic Gathering MP Henri Helou the only two officials so far running in the polls.
A candidate needed the vote of 86 lawmakers in order to emerge victorious in the first round.
The second round was scheduled for April 30, but it was not held over a lack of quorum at parliament after the March 8 alliance, except Speaker Nabih Berri's Development and Liberation bloc, boycotted the session.
Berri scheduled a third session for Wednesday, but observers are expecting it to fail once again over a lack of quorum.
The ongoing divisions between the March 8 and 14 camps over the elections are raising fears of a presidential vacuum.
President Michel Suleiman's term ends on May 25 but the constitutional timeframe to elect a new president began on March 25.
Y.R.
M.T.
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