Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. (Credit: Lebanese Forces)
BEIRUT — The head of the Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea announced Tuesday the candidacy of two members of his party, Elias Stephan and MP George Okais. They will run in the Zahle district in the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for May 15.
Here’s what we know:
• "The 2022 elections does not represent a chance to get an extra deputy, but rather to find Lebanon, which we miss," Geagea said from his residence.
• The seven parliamentary seats in Zahle and the surrounding area are distributed between two Greek-Catholic seats, one Greek-Orthodox, one Maronite, one Armenian-Orthodox, one Shiite and one Sunni.
• During his announcement, Geagea attacked the Mar Mikhael Agreement which took place in 2006 between Hezbollah and The Free Patriotic Movement, saying that the agreement has "destroyed Lebanon… separated families, deprived people of the most basic necessities of life, and led Lebanon into the hell we are in today,” he said in reference to the unprecedented economic crisis that Lebanon is struggling with today.
• In January, Geagea announced the candidacy of the former minister Melhem Riachi in Metn district, his support for an independent candidate Razi al-Haj, and the candidacy of Chawki Daccache in Keserwan district. At the beginning of January, LF’s head had announced the candidacy of Ghaith Yazbeck, editor-in-chief of the local TV channel MTV, for one of the two Maronite seats there.