The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Sunday the door to electing a president was "wide open" and his members of parliament would vote for ally Michel Aoun at a parliamentary session at the end of October. Lebanon's former prime minister Saad al-Hariri said on Thursday he would back Christian leader Aoun to be president, in an arrangement which is expected to result in Hariri eventually being appointed prime minister again. Sunni Muslim leader Hariri is a longtime opponent of Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and his move to support Aoun encountered opposition from members of his own Future Movement party. Nasrallah said: "The past few days saw an important development: a declaration by the Future Movement leader (Hariri) of his support for the nomination of General Michel Aoun for the presidency. Nasrallah spoke at a commemoration event for a Hezbollah military commander recently killed fighting in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Source: Egypt Independent October 23, 2016 16:52 UTC