The head of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea, confirmed openness to discussing the French envoy's proposal of a "third option" in the presidential file, noting that the major problem lies in the fact that the "resistance axis" rejects the "third candidate." He stated that this team, led by Hezbollah, is the one obstructing the presidential elections, leading to a deadlock regarding this crucial issue. Geagea's comments came during an interview with the newspaper "l'orient le jour," which began by asking him about the presidential elections, given that France has abandoned its initiative (which involved negotiating the election of Sleiman Frangieh in exchange for appointing a prime minister close to the opposition), and that its envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, is now calling for the adoption of the third option.
Geagea pointed out that the French envoy had raised the third option during his second visit to Lebanon. "From our side, we expressed our openness to discussing this possibility, but the dilemma lies with the 'resistance axis' that even rejects the concept of 'the third candidate,' and thus, it is the one preventing the presidential elections from occurring."
He further explained, "In the face of this equation, it seems that the presidential election has reached a dead end. On the one hand, Hezbollah and its allies want to impose their candidate on us, while on the other hand, about 20 deputies are still hesitant. We, however, form a bloc of around 40 deputies. But that number is not sufficient for electing a president."
Regarding his willingness to support the army commander, who is facing many attacks following the call for the adoption of the third option, and amid Qatar's efforts to break the deadlock, Geagea noted that Joseph Aoun would be preferred by Doha. He commented, "First, I want to emphasize that the Qataris do not propose names; they support the third option. Since the beginning of the presidential elections, it has been clear that Gebran Bassil does not want to see the army commander elected, not for principled reasons, but due to his attachment to power. He attacks him because he is a serious presidential candidate. Therefore, this fierce rhetoric is unjustified."
He added, "We do not have a veto against the army commander, but we will express our opinion when the time comes, considering that such a decision requires careful study and extensive consultations, as we are unaware of his economic and political vision for the country. In fact, I do not know General Joseph Aoun."
On the topic of dialogue, he stated, "What dialogue are we talking about when the Shiite duo has made it clear to the Qataris, French, and everyone else that they have no alternative plan? Hence, everyone knows that dialogue will lead to nothing; rather, they want to drag us into it to say that all the main parties met together but could not reach an agreement. Thus, the electoral entanglement is primarily aimed at exonerating the resistance from this accusation. In this context, I want to send a message to Nabih Berri: You are committed to going to the electoral session regardless of the outcome of the dialogue; your call for dialogue has failed. So go to the parliament to elect a new president for the country."
Geagea emphasized that they "will continue to attack the regime responsible for many of the problems and crises that Lebanon has experienced for years." He stated that the reality is that Syrian refugees in Lebanon are no longer just people fleeing the war in their home country, but they now represent a phenomenon of illegal Syrian presence in Lebanon. "Everyone still remembers the first wave of refugees who came to Lebanon under difficult circumstances, but the reality is different currently. Furthermore, the prominent names in the Syrian opposition will not return to Damascus, yet they constitute a minority in a massive wave of over 1,700,000 refugees currently in Lebanon."
