As Lebanese lawmakers prepare to elect a president on Thursday, some parties are still reluctant to support leading candidate army chief Joseph Aoun, who seems to be supported by the United States, France and Saudi Arabia.

The Free Patriotic Movement still has not announced its official candidate, but its leader Jebran Bassil has said that electing Aoun is not constitutional. "Any vote for Aoun (in the upcoming January 9 session) should be considered a spoiled vote according to the constitution," Bassil told LBCI in an interview late Tuesday. He said he supports former finance minister and International Monetary Fund official Jihad Azour and is open to acting security chief Elias Baissari.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Wednesday voiced optimism over the election of a new president in Thursday’s electoral session.

The opposition will hold a meeting in Maarab at 7:00 pm to announce support for Army chief Joseph Aoun’s presidential nomination, media reports said on Wednesday, a day prior to a presidential election session called for by Speaker Nabih Berri.

U.S. Major General Jasper Jeffers, the Chairman of the Cessation of Hostilities Implementation Mechanism, was joined by French Brigadier General Guillaume Ponchin on a visit to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) 5th Brigade headquarters in southwest Lebanon on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Embassy said.

The opposition and change MPs will have a “unified plan” in the January 9 presidential election session, MP George Okais announced after a meeting for the opposition and change MPs on Tuesday.

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Tuesday described the Hezbollah-led “defiance camp” as a “liar” camp, but noted that the LF is however willing to “carefully consider” the nomination of Army chief Joseph Aoun if the defiance camp officially endorses him for the presidency.

Druze leader Walid Jumblat has said that Army Commander General Joseph Aoun is still his bloc’s presidential candidate, adding that his nomination has received “positive feedback from the five-nation group for Lebanon.”

The five-party Cessation of Hostilities Implementation Mechanism, which is tasked with monitoring the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, convened at a UNIFIL position in Ras Naqoura Monday for the third Pentalateral Meeting, a joint statement from the U.S. and French embassies in Lebanon and UNIFIL said.

U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein arrived Monday in Beirut, amid a fragile Lebanon-Israel truce, which took effect on November 27.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had warned on Sunday that "there will be no agreement" if Hezbollah did not withdraw "beyond the Litani river", while Hezbollah new leader Sheikh Naim Qassem warned the group's patience with Israeli violations could run out before the end of the ceasefire's 60-day implementation timeframe.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Sunday that if Hezbollah does not withdraw beyond the Litani River “there will be no agreement,” and Israel will be forced to act.

“Israel is interested in the implementation of the agreement in Lebanon and will continue to enforce it fully and without compromise to ensure the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes,” Katz said during a visit to a military base in northern Israel where the army has set up a display of captured Hezbollah weapons.