By Xinhua
Beirut : Lebanon’s ruling coalition, named March 14 bloc, on Thursday called on the Arab League (AL) and the United Nations (UN) to secure the forthcoming presidential election, local Naharnet news website reported.
In a meeting at the Phalange Party’s headquarters in Beirut, the March 14 bloc called on the AL and the UN to “take all the resolutions and adopt all arrangements in all spheres to guarantee the holding of presidential elections and protect the republic.”
The ruling coalition also blamed Syria for the death of pro-government lawmaker Antoine Ghanem, accusing it of “physically eliminating the deputies in order to prevent the presidential vote.”
Ghanem, a member of the Phalange Party, was killed along with four others in a car bombing on Wednesday in a Beirut suburb. He was the eighth member of the anti-Syrian majority to be assassinated since the murder of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri in 2005.
The Lebanese parliament is due to convene on Sept. 25 for the first time in nearly a year to choose a successor to incumbent President Emile Lahoud, amid a political deadlock between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the ruling majority.
The forecast presidential event caused widespread concerns among the Lebanese, fearing further disarrays and possible eruption of violence.