Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in an interview with Reuters, Nov. 14, 2024. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
BEIRUT — Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said he was ready to run for president if he could secure enough political support, during an interview on Wednesday evening with Hala London. MPs are due to convene on Jan. 9 to elect a new president, a position that has been vacant for more than two years and which Parliament has failed to fill after more than a dozen attempts at meeting quorum.
Speaking on the UK-based television channel, the Lebanese Forces (LF) leader affirmed his readiness to stand as a candidate "when there is a minimum number of parliamentary blocs" in his favor. "A candidacy is not a heroic act. If a sufficient number of blocks support my candidacy, I will of course run. We're in politics to fill the positions needed to implement our political program," he said, stressing that from now on, everything that had been said and written about the presidential election "belonged to the past."
"The names proposed before were proposed in the context of the time. Today, we are in a new situation," he said, referring to the cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, and the fall of the Assad regime in Syria following an swift offensive by Syrian opposition forces that was launched the day the truce in Lebanon took effect. "In this context of transformations, is it reasonable to continue to discuss the presidency as we did before?" he questioned.
A monitoring committee made up of Israeli, Lebanese, American, French and UNIFIL representatives has been established to oversee the implementation of the Nov. 27 truce between Hezbollah and Israel, in which the former is required to remove all its weaponry from south of the Litani River. When asked about the chances of this happening, Geagea said he felt that the issue "has been settled."
As for Syria, another dramatically altered and altering political landscape right next door to Lebanon, Geagea said he believes that Syria's "expansionist ambitions in Lebanon." referring to a history of occupation in the country, were "exacerbated by the Baath Party," and are likely not to reach such extremes without the Assads in power. Geagea, whose party is a member of the anti-Assad March 14 alliance, called for the cancellation of "all agreements between Lebanon and Assad's Syria," and expressed optimism that "in the coming months, the basics of the Syrian refugee dossier will be settled."
However, he said, "I have the feeling that some parliamentary groups are approaching things as before," Geagea said, "which will not lead to the election of a president of the Republic."Without proposing or asking for anything, it might be time to think about early parliamentary elections." If the parliament remains in the same position as it was in 2022, in which no bloc had a clear majority, how would the new political landscape in Lebanon and the region be addressed, he questioned.