Hariri assures Franjieh that his initiative is serious and not a political maneuver

Former Lebanese PM and Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri confirmed to  Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh his commitment to his nomination as president during the telephone call they held over the weekend,  As Safir newspaper  reported on Monday.

Hariri assured Franjieh that “his initiative to nominate him as president  is serious and will continue and that it is not part of a political maneuver,” informed sources told As Safir.

Hariri is determined to go ahead with his initiative and has urged its supporters to remain patient to overcome the obstacles facing it, added the daily.

It explained that he is banking on gaining their support over time seeing as no one has named an alternative nominee to Franjieh.

Hariri had also contacted Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea over the weekend to address the latest developments linked to ending the presidential vacuum.

Recent efforts to end the vacuum saw Franjieh emerge as a presidential candidate as part of a greater settlement that would revitalize the political scene in the country.

The initiative, launched by Hariri, has however been met with the reservations of the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb Party, and the Free Patriotic Movement.

Hariri’s move also sparked tensions between him and Geagea seeing as the latter is a presidential candidate and an ally of the Future  Movement and  the March 14 coalition.

TV appearance

Franjieh is set to make  a televised appearance on Thursday to tackle the latest political developments, especially those concerned with ending the vacuum in the presidency.

He will appear   on Kalam el Nass   talk show with Marcel Ghanem   and is expected  to  “reveal the details of the presidential proposal” aimed at ending the deadlock in the country, reported As Safir newspaper on Monday.

Franjieh, a friend and ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has been proposed as president in a power-sharing deal tabled by Hariri.

Franjieh, visited Thursday, Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and held a long meeting with him, in the presence of their aides to seek his blessing for the Hariri proposal.

Frnajieh left the meeting with the feeling that Hezbollah will not abandon its support for MP Michel  Aoun as long as  Hariri   and the March 14 alliance do not officially declare their  intention to nominate him as their presidential candidate.