Assad ally announces candidacy for Lebanese presidency
By REUTERS
BEIRUT - A family friend of Syrian President Bashar Assad said he will stand for Lebanon's presidency, a post that has been vacant for more than 18 months.Lebanese lawmaker Suleiman Franjieh announced his candidacy late on Thursday in an interview on LBCI television, voicing confidence in a power-sharing proposal that would put him in the top role and make Sunni Muslim politician Saad al-Hariri prime minister.That arrangement, widely discussed in Lebanese media but until now not formally announced, could revive government institutions paralyzed by political rivalries that have been heightened by the war in neighboring Syria.
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