Lebanon”s Geagea sees Suleiman becoming president
A leading member of Lebanon”s anti-Syrian governing coalition said on Saturday he saw nothing to stop the army chief becoming head of state and hoped a presidential election would go ahead next week.
Christian leader Samir Geagea said General Michel Suleiman enjoyed the support of both his Western-backed governing alliance and the opposition led by Hezbollah and backed by Syria.
Christian leader Samir Geagea said General Michel Suleiman enjoyed the support of both his Western-backed governing alliance and the opposition led by Hezbollah and backed by Syria.
A parliamentary vote expected to confirm Suleiman as the head of state was put off on Friday, for a seventh time, until Tuesday to give the rivals more time to reach agreement to secure the two-thirds quorum needed for the election.
“I do not think there is any going back,” Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces group, told Voice of Lebanon radio.
“I doubt very much, with what I know, I doubt that there is anything that will stop, obstruct or hold up the election of General Michel Suleiman,” he said. “I hope it will be during the coming week,” he added, in reference to the election.
Electing Suleiman would ease Lebanon”s worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war and fill a post that has been vacant since pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud”s term ended on November 23.
The rival blocs have yet to agree on how to amend the constitution, which forbids a senior public servant from running for president, and are also discussing the shape of a new government to take office after the election.
Demands by Geagea rival Michel Aoun — a Christian leader and Hezbollah ally — are also complicating efforts to forge a deal.
Suleiman, 59, was appointed army chief in 1998 when Syria still dominated Lebanon. He has good ties to Hezbollah, the powerful armed group backed by Syria and Iran.
The governing coalition”s nomination of Suleiman was a setback for its leaders, who had hoped to elect someone who shared their agenda of curbing Syrian influence in Lebanon and seeking the disarmament of Hezbollah.
But Geagea said Suleiman was acceptable to both sides. “There is nobody who fears that he has bad intentions,” he said.