The leader of the Marada Sleiman Frangieh on May 18, 2022. (Credit: Michel Hallak/OLJ)
BEIRUT — Marada party head Sleiman Frangieh said during a press conference Wednesday that “there is no link between the parliamentary election results and the presidential elections.”
Here’s what we know:
• “Circumstances will decide who reaches the presidency,” Frangieh said, adding that “each presidential race has its own characteristics, but we’ve always held that the president should have popular support.” The outcome of Sunday’s parliamentary elections saw the Lebanese Forces securing the most seats (19) in the new parliament and opposition forces breaking through with 13 seats, resulting in the loss of parliamentary majority for Hezbollah and its allies.
• Frangieh, former Health Minister and member of parliament, reportedly pro-Syrian regime and close to Hezbollah, is a potential candidate for the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for October after the end of current president Michel Aoun’s mandate. Also eyeing the presidency is Free Patriotic Movement head Gebran Bassil, with whom Frangieh met during an iftar hosted by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah early April. Frangieh previously said he would be open to dialogue with the FPM but emphasized on Wednesday, “I will never shut the door on dialogue, but I am nobody’s tool … We won’t make concessions at the expense of our dignity.”
• “We’ve accepted the electoral law, but the text needs revision,” Frangieh said after the party secured two seats in the new parliament following the elections, losing one of the three it had in the previous parliament to Michel Doueihy, who is associated with opposition groups in Zgharta and part of Shamaluna.
• Frangieh said priority should be given to economic issues, saying “people’s economic situation must be addressed,” despite often being named a figurehead of feudalism in Lebanese politics.