The Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid al-Bukhari, renewed his call to speed up the Lebanese presidential elections.
Bukhari met Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib on Monday during his tour with Lebanese political figures.
"We share the same desire with the international community to see the completion of the presidential elections [in Lebanon] as soon as possible," Bukhari stressed following the meeting.
"I want Lebanon to be, as it was, an oasis of thought and culture of life, and for its people to enjoy prosperity."
Meanwhile, political parties are yet to agree on the presidential candidates. The Shiite duo of Hezbollah and the Amal movement support the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Frangieh, while the opposition still needs to agree on a candidate.
If the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, joins the opposition in rejecting Franjieh's candidacy, it would be reflected positively in their favor.
Sources of the Lebanese Forces party stressed that the opposition parties are in talks to unify their position, confirming they have yet to agree on a nominee.
They told Asharq Al-Awsat that if the Lebanese Forces could agree with the Free Patriotic Movement, they would secure the parliamentary majority with over 65 votes.
However, they indicated that Bassil has made a decision, realizing that agreeing with the opposition puts Hezbollah before the fait accompli. He is trying to ensure Hezbollah would back down from supporting Frangieh.
The sources renewed their call on Speaker Nabih Berri to hold open sessions to elect the president.
They believe holding open sessions would lead to naming a candidate who embodies the aspirations of the Lebanese and not a candidate of the axis of resistance.
They accused the axis of resistance of misleading the public, claiming a positive atmosphere in favor of its candidate, despite local and international conditions.
Asked about the Lebanese Forces' boycott of the election session if it favored Frangieh, the sources indicated that the other parties couldn't have more than 50 votes.
The opposition is currently divided between supporting former ministers Jihad Azour and Ziad Baroud, army commander General Joseph Aoun, and former lawmaker Salah Honien.
