“Lebanon Presidential Candidate Search Continues as Franjieh Meets with Saudi Ambassador”

At a time when the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Franjieh, was visiting the Saudi ambassador in Yarzeh, a number of opposition MPs were meeting in Parliament, to continue searching for agreement on a candidate they would support among themselves, amid many of them suggesting adopting the name of former MP Salah Hanin.

Franjieh according to Bukhari
Franjieh’s move comes in a natural context, as a presidential candidate. And he wanted to meet the Saudi ambassador to proceed with the path of providing guarantees, and to explain matters explicitly to Saudi officials, especially since he had previously sent them a letter of guarantees with the advisor in the French presidency, Patrick Dorrell.

Franjieh’s visit to Yarzeh comes after a tour that Al-Bukhari made to the various leaderships and parliamentary blocs, in which he announced that Saudi Arabia does not place a veto on any presidential candidate, and that it welcomes the agreement between the Lebanese to elect a president for the republic. The most important thing is the president’s program and his work mechanism. While there is a second meeting for Al-Bukhari with deputies of the National Moderation Bloc at the bloc’s headquarters, after they also visited him at the Saudi embassy. Franjieh tweeted after the meeting, saying: “Thank you for inviting the ambassador of the honorable Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The meeting was cordial and excellent.”

The Socialist Party and the Phalanges.. and Kanaan
On the other hand, Representative Wael Abu Faour visited the headquarters of the Kataeb Party in Saifi, to meet with its president, Sami Gemayel, amid continued communication between the opposition forces in order to agree on a presidential candidate to confront Franjieh. After the meeting, Gemayel said, “We met with Abu Faour in the framework of permanent coordination with the opposition in order to reach results, because time is not in favor of the country.” He added, “We will intensify our meetings in order to reach a conclusion, due to the imminent situation, especially in light of the entitlement of the Central Bank’s governance, which we refuse to be accomplished by the government, but I promise nothing.” He continued, “We are keen to elect a president as soon as possible, but we refuse to surrender, and we will try to make a quick breach in the presidential file.” He commented on the meeting between the head of the “Marada” movement, Suleiman Franjieh, and the Saudi ambassador, Walid Bukhari, by saying: “I don’t care, nor is it a green light.”

For his part, Representative Ibrahim Kanaan considered that “whoever sets a date for the presidency after two weeks or a month, unfortunately, does not know anything, in light of the anticipation of the local and international repercussions of the existing rapprochement in the region on more than one level,” calling on Christians to “evaluate the previous stage and not to cancel the possibility of strategic Christian understanding.” paves the way for a broader national understanding. He stressed that “what is required is to reach a common denominator on the basis of specifications, not interests, which determine the next president and Christians adhere to it.”