Suleiman: No to Bilateral Understandings Between Any Party and Any Presidential Candidate

President Michel Suleiman indicated that "despite the urgent need to elect a president for the republic as soon as possible, care must be taken not to rush into imposing conditions on candidates or accepting them with preconditions, and bilateral understandings between any party and any candidate under any pretext are prohibited." He stated in a declaration: "These understandings violate the constitution, and any agreement with any candidate is tantamount to an understanding or acknowledgment of the agreements made between this candidate and other parties, even if they pursue an opposing political line that does not align with sovereignty." He added: "Candidates must not yield to conditions or establish understandings because when the country's president takes the oath, he must free himself from obligations that contradict the constitution and the laws, and those that prevent him from being the president of the entire country, solely for the country and for the interests of its citizens, justice, and equality among them."