The Kataeb political office, in a statement following a meeting chaired by MP Sami Gemayel, stated that "domestic and foreign initiatives aimed at accelerating the election of a president for the republic will be doomed to fail unless Hezbollah and its political team meet the Lebanese halfway by abandoning their candidate and opting for another who can serve as a point of convergence for all Lebanese." It warned against "Hezbollah exploiting these initiatives to buy time and intimidate and entice parties into submitting to its will, as has been customary."
The political office discussed "positions put forth under the banner of partnership," deeming "that despite their significance, they cannot be realized in a country that is held hostage; what partnership can we talk about while the decision is hostage to Hezbollah's will?" It called for "saving Lebanon and liberating it from the grip that is tightening around it before addressing issues related to the political system and partnership in the nation."
The office rejected "the cancellation of municipal elections under any pretext and warned against the dangers of continuing to postpone constitutional entitlements and removing Lebanon from the democratic context of governance." It emphasized that "municipalities constitute the only remaining organizational framework capable of providing services to the people in an ailing and incapacitated state" and affirmed that "any disruption of elections will deprive the Lebanese of their most basic rights, especially in light of the existence of dozens of dissolved municipalities that are unable to fulfill their roles."
