Frangieh's presidential hopes hang in the balance

The path to Baabda Presidential Palace seems uncertain for Frangieh regarding garnering external support and securing the necessary votes.

So far, Frangieh has only gathered 65 votes in his favor.

Frangieh's supporters comprise various factions, including:

- the Development and Liberation Bloc (15 votes)
- Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc (15 votes)
- their independent allies (8 votes)
- Independent National Bloc (4 votes)
- the Armenian parliamentary bloc (3 votes)
This makes a total of 45 votes.

This means that Frangieh needs an additional 20 votes to reach the required 65 votes.

The key to achieving this lies in winning over the opposition parties that reject Frangieh's election. The potential factions to target are:

- Strong Republic Bloc: 20 votes
- Strong Lebanon Bloc: 18 votes
- Democratic Gathering Bloc: 8 votes
- Tajadod Bloc: 4 votes
- Change MPs Bloc: 5 votes
- Kataeb Party Bloc: 4 votes
These collectively hold 59 votes.

However, all eyes are currently on the National Moderation Bloc, consisting of six MPs, which was visited by the Saudi ambassador on Thursday.

Sources within the bloc confirmed to LBCI that the bloc would not go against the Saudi will. They added that the bloc's stance remains undecided regarding whether they are with Frangieh or against him. However, they have agreed that the bloc's votes should be consolidated in one place and not distributed, according to the same sources.

The unavailability of the required 65 votes for Frangieh is one of the reasons why the Speaker of Parliament has not called for a session to elect the president.

Even if Frangieh's supporters could secure the quorum of 86 votes for such a session, it is currently unfeasible under the present circumstances.

Furthermore, the opposing party has yet to present a consensus candidate, and the divisions within the Parliament remain a key factor. Without internal consensus and external support, the conclusion is clear: The path to Baabda Presidential Palace remains distant for any potential president.