Kataeb Leader Samy Gemayel asserted that if the conditions for securing the half plus one for Hezbollah presidential candidate were available then any quorum is tantamount to electing him, warning against hiding behind the adherence to Constitution to implicate Lebanese in six additional years of domination, poverty and humiliation.

“We do not receive any presidential orders from anyone, but our choices are linked to the interest of our country; we refuse to leave Lebanon in this shape, and we will not let Hezbollah dictates its will to us once again, and we will not elect any candidate affiliated with it. I say ‘any candidate’ because the issue with Sleiman Frangieh is not personal,” Gemayel affirmed.

Gemayel’s words came after meeting with Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Bukhari in Kataeb Headquarters in Saifi.

The Kataeb Leader stressed the importance of restoring trust, saying that no embassy should ask for anything presidentially, and this also applies to Saudi Arabia, which confirms that this matter is an internal affair.

“The Arab stance is clear in standing by Lebanon if it is willing to carry out reforms, but if it heads to further isolation and subordination to Hezbollah, the Arab brothers have sent a clear message that it will not be able to depend on them,” he said.

“The priority is for Lebanon to restore its relations with the Arab and international community, and for the Arab countries to reinvest in Lebanon,” he pointed out.

Gemayel called on all the Lebanese, especially the deputies, to assume their responsibilities and hold their constituents responsible for the choices they may make as they are the ones who will pay the price in the end.

“Every MP should take a public stance, and we want clear stances from everyone, and no one is allowed to hide,” he stressed.

“Those who are subject to the dictates of the outside must be held accountable at the ballot boxes, because what is required is for the Lebanese people to win, and they must threaten their representatives with accountability,” he stated.

“Greater coordination is required between the opposition parties. Today, we will complete coordination and develop a joint strategy for the next stage,” he said.

As for the possibility of electing a so-called consensual president, Gemayel said: “If it possible to agree on a consensual president and if they would withdraw Frangieh, we would withdraw our candidate Michel Mouawad.”

“We would then go to parliament with the presence of three or four candidates and let the best candidate win,”he added.

“If what is proposed is to subdue the deputies by disrupting the sessions until they impose their candidate, then this gives us the right to adopt the same method to prevent country’s control,” he emphasized.

“Is there any country in the world that cares about us as much as we care about ourselves?” Gemayel asked.    

“Either we are up to the responsibility and decide our fate ourselves, or we become people who are moved around a "chess table", but our decision is in our hands and no one can influence us,” he indicated.

“We will face any settlement against Lebanon's interest,” he affirmed.