Sources close to the Amal-Hezbollah duo confirmed to "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" that withdrawing support for the head of the Marada Movement, Sleiman Frangieh is not an option for both parties. This is evident from their officials' stances, which, although calling for dialogue, stem from discussions surrounding Frangieh. The opposition puts the ball in their court, especially amid conversations about not inviting Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to a session soon.
Following notable remarks by the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), MP Gebran Bassil, stating that the latest election session demonstrated that no team is capable of electing a president and indicating the possibility of consensus on other candidates, leading figures in the FPM confirm to "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" that they still adhere to Azour. Still, they emphasize openness to a third option.
It is worth noting that the FPM distinguished itself from the opposition, which agreed on Azour's nomination, by not having its MPs sign a statement declaring their continued support and subsequently participating in the legislative session that approved salary increases in the public sector. This move has received criticism from opposition counterparts who boycotted FPM's nomination of Azour.
"We continue nominating the intersection candidate, either until elections take place and whoever wins, or conducting negotiations to reach a consensual candidate," the FPM's sources explained.
Nonetheless, they criticize the position of the Amal-Hezbollah duo that adheres to its candidate and calls for dialogue, which cannot happen, and the sources emphasize, "if they back down from supporting Frangieh, then it becomes easier to move to another stage to agree on a third option, but as long as they stick to Frangieh, we will stick to Azour."
The Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc (Progressive Socialist Party), who also voted for Azour, announced their openness to other candidates besides their initial proposal. At the same time, both the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party agree on their ongoing support to Azour, especially since they consider him the "Plan B" after retracting their nomination of MP Michel Moawad.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah remains committed to its candidate.
Moreover, sources from the Kataeb Party state, "there is an attempt to portray the pro-Azour team as losers despite their victory in numbers." They confirm that "the other team must abandon their imposing approach because it will not."
On the other hand, sources from the Lebanese Forces confirm that the intersection between the opposition and the FPM continues to support Azour and works on fortifying this alliance.
However, they added, "the question remains whether the Parliament Speaker will call for an electoral session. This is where the challenge lies, especially after the other team realizes that they are the weaker side while the opposition can gather more than 65 votes."
Regarding ongoing communication between the opposition and the FPM, especially after Bassil's statements hinting at withdrawing support for Azour, the sources say, "there is no information suggesting that the FPM will change its mind. Anyway, the question remains, what is the alternative for Bassil? It is unlikely that his MPs will vote for Frangieh, and there is no indication that Hezbollah is willing to retract Frangieh's nomination to reach an agreement with him."
With the importance of dialogue in reaching a solution and consequently agreeing on a third candidate beyond Frangieh and Azour, the sources state, "we consider the third option to be Azour, after the first being Michel Moawad and the second being Frangieh." As for the possibility of reaching a settlement, it added, "we are not obliged to take a stance now, especially since Azour has the required specifications and does not belong to any political party."
In this context, Lebanese Forces MP Fadi Karam affirmed the continuation of Azour's candidacy and said in an interview, "the intersection is established with the conviction of the two parties, and adherence to Azour remains according to the opposition parties," stressing, "if Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri calls for an electoral session, which he must do, then we are ready," expecting Azour to obtain a more significant number of votes.