Jihad Azour denies withdrawal from presidential race with a potential return to IMF

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Sources supporting Jihad Azour's candidacy stated that he is not planning to announce his withdrawal from the presidential race.

They mentioned that he might return to work at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) until the next phase becomes apparent after the new round of communications. Although the forces that nominated him declared their commitment to him, they kept the doors open for any changes depending on the evolving external contacts.

This article was originally published in and translated from Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

However, the sources added that the Lebanese Forces are focusing on ways to preserve the stance among those who intersected in supporting Azour, emphasizing that the trust issue with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) does not mean abandoning the existing intersection. No party in this alliance can return to proposing new candidates, mainly since an extensive list of candidates was discussed before agreeing on Azour.

The second matter that concerns the Lebanese Forces is confirming that the parties in the intersection are committed to the constitutional steps that prevent the other party's candidate from reaching the presidency.

Additionally, the sources clarified that Samir Geagea, the leader of the Lebanese Forces, insists on the party's right to obstruct the quorum of the session if any development leads to the election of Frangieh. They quoted Geagea as saying that he holds a document containing the necessary signatures of MPs to obstruct the session. Lebanese Forces sources did not confirm this claim, and MPs from the party itself denied it, stating that the agreement was only verbal and not more.

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Jihad Azour

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Withdrawal

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