Flickr/Mark. Some rights reserved.In potentially the most abrupt U-turn in Lebanese politics since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in February 2006 between Hizbullah's Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and the Free Patriotic Movement's former-PM General Michel Aoun, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea stunned his March 14 allies by endorsing Aoun's nomination for the Lebanese Presidency on 20 January 2016 (see video below).
Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014. As per Lebanese custom, the president should be Maronite (Eastern Catholic) and is elected by the convening of parliament with a minimum of a two-thirds quorum. This quorum has been unavailable since Aoun (backed by March 8 coalition) has refused to send his parliamentary bloc without the assurance that he – or someone he nominates – is elected as president.
Geagea's endorsement does not necessarily mean that Aoun enjoys majority support in parliament. The Lebanese Forces currently hold eight seats (this is expected to increase during the next elections) and he would need to convince some of his allies to secure Aoun's successful bid.
