Geagea: Electing Aoun Puts Taef Accord into Implementation
Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea stated on Friday that Lebanon is in front of a chance to have a president chosen by the Lebanese themselves putting the Taef Accord on the track of implementation, as he voiced hopes that all parliamentary blocs elect MP Michel Aoun during the next presidential election session.
“We will have a president chosen by the Lebanese. We have a real entity now. The presidential path is going the right way and I am optimistic,” said Geagea after a meeting he held with Change and Reform bloc head and presidential hopeful MP Michel Aoun at Rabieh.
“Let the parliamentary blocs elect Aoun and with that the actual implementation of the Taef shall begin,” he went on to say.
On Thursday, Hariri has formally endorsed the presidential nomination of Free Patriotic Movement founder Aoun, describing his decision as a “major political risk” that he is willing to take for the sake of the country.
“We have a chance to get out of the dark tunnel,” stated Geagea.
On reports alleging an agreement between him and Aoun that will see him become president of Lebanon in six years, Geagea denied and said: “There is no such agreement between Aoun and me.”
The LF leader described Aoun's nomination by Hariri as the first step towards the implementation of the Taef Accord that ended the civil war in Lebanon, he said: “This is the first step on the path to the implementation of the Taef Accord, which has never been applied effectively, it is the agreement which we adhere to the fullest extent.”
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 had launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Hizbullah's ally Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.
Geagea, an ally of Hariri has endorsed Aoun for the post after withdrawing his own candidacy in his favor.
The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid have argued 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.
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