Kataeb Leader Samy Gemayel met on Wednesday with Grand Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian at Dar al-Fatwa accompanied by a delegation from the Kataeb Party, including Lawmaker Selim Sayegh, Vice President of the Kataeb Party Georges Jreij and members of the party’s political political bureau Suheil Hamdan, Rustom Souaiby, Bachir Assaker, Arz Fadous, and Maroun Assaf.

After the meeting, Gemayel emphasized the importance of electing a president for the republic as soon as possible.

“We are keen to elect a president as soon as possible and we will not give up,” he affirmed.

“We refuse having a name imposed on us, and we are ready to go to the parliament and elect acceptable names, rather than ensuring a quorum for the victory of Hezbollah over the Lebanese,” he went on saying.

“If this logic is reversed, let us all go to the parliament and vote for any accepted candidate, and 'the smart one wins’. We will congratulate any president who is democratically elected by the parliament away from the reality of imposition, obstruction, and threat,” he pointed out.

“All we want is to live in peace in this country. We believe that nothing secures a future for all of us except the state with all its institutions and equality between the Lebanese. This talk is not sectarian, as there are Lebanese from all sects who consider themselves second-class citizens, and there are those who have the blessing of Hezbollah and act as if they were first class citizens. We totally refuse this logic he pointed out.

“We adhere to a Lebanon of freedom, development, civilization and openness," he indicated.

In response to a question about external guardianship, Gemayel affirmed: “No one can influence us by surrendering, but they can influence others by speeding up. All what we are asking for is the swift election of a president.”

In response to a question about the opposition's delay in choosing its presidential candidate, he stated that the opposition's candidate is Michel Mouawad, while Hezbollah's candidate is Sleiman Frangieh, adding: "Let's put forward other names to reach names that are acceptable to both parties to open a new page free from the logic of imposition. We are ready to move to the intersection phase on names that are acceptable to both sides, and what is required is not to withdraw Mouawad's nomination and keep Frangieh."

Gemayel affirmed that Free Patriotic Movement has not changed its political position and still supports Hezbollah's illegal weapons.

“We are not in the process of discussing trust or alliance now, but there is an intersection between the opposition and the FPM which is not electing Frangieh,” he said.