MP Joseph al Maalouf urges March 8 camp to submit its candidate for the presidency

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MP Joseph al-Maalouf hailed on Tuesday the Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea's candidacy for the presidential elections, adding that Geagea garners popularity among Lebanese Christians.

Al-Maalouf's comments were made during Nharkom Said TV show in which he said that deliberations are taking place between March 14 figures over the presidential bid.

He also reiterated that Kataeb party leader Amine Gemayel voiced his full support for Geagea's candidacy, adding that the March 14 camp will launch in the few coming hours a clear stance in this regard.

Al-Maalouf urged the March 8 camp to submit its candidate for the presidency along with a clear presidential program.

Three weeks ago, the Lebanese Forces executive committee meeting declared the candidacy of Geagea to the presidency.

Following the nomination Geagea told LBCI that his candidacy comes in a bid "to save the country from the current crisis."

President Michel Sleiman's tenure ends in May, but the constitutional period to elect a new head of state began on March 25.

Heavily influenced by the war in neighboring Syria, and host to more than a million refugees, Lebanon has struggled to control a deterioration in security and an economic slowdown.

In February, Lebanon formed a new government, breaking a 10-month political deadlock during which a caretaker government with limited powers was in charge.

Many Lebanese hope that a working government and the election of a new president will bring stability and leadership.

But rivalries persist between the Hezbollah-dominated March 8 bloc and the March 14 alliance led by the mainly Sunni Muslim Future Party.

Candidates for the presidential election are likely to struggle to win a two-thirds majority in parliament.

Hezbollah has sent fighters to help Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam - battle rebels, mostly from the majority Sunni Muslim population, trying to overthrow him.

Bombs have targeted areas in Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah.

Under Lebanon's political system, which seeks to guarantee representation for its various sects and religions, the president must be a Maronite Christian, a community which is divided between March 8 and March 14 supporters.

Geagea, 61, is opposed to Assad and has condemned Hezbollah's military involvement in Syria. He spent 11 years in jail for political murders and other killings during Lebanon's civil war, the only warlord imprisoned after the conflict.