Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea reaffirmed in a statement that “the simplest, safest and most constitutional way to elect a President of the Republic was and remains the immediate and definitive convening of an open session with consecutive sessions”. This came in light of his criticism of Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, whom he accuses of obstructing the constitutional process leading to the election of a President of the Republic by “inventing new norms”, notably that of promoting dialogue.
Geagea referred to the example of the elections held in the French National Assembly: consecutive sessions led to the election of a President of the Assembly, “despite the fact that the French Parliament is today in a state of fragmentation that far exceeds that of the Lebanese Parliament”, according to the LF leader.
He also rejected, once again, Berri’s attempt to establish a tradition of a “dialogue table” prior to the election of a President of the Republic. He stressed that the meeting held in Doha had been organized “to deal with a military and security crisis caused by Hezbollah following its invasion of the capital Beirut, and not to resolve the issue of presidential elections”, adding that “this dialogue table did not lead to the election of the President of the Republic, but rather it was the parallel bilateral and trilateral consultations that made this possible”.
Geagea criticized the ongoing “constitutional deviations” and insisted on the need “for President Berri and his Al Moumanaa bloc to respect the Constitution and stop obstructing and inventing new norms”. He affirmed that the Lebanese Forces (LF) do not reject anyone’s candidacy, but categorically refuse to disrupt the constitutional process to impose any particular candidate.
In conclusion, he said, “President Berri, save yourself and the Lebanese time and trouble, especially in these difficult and fateful circumstances, and call for a serious presidential election session with consecutive sessions that end only with the election of a new president.”
