Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged on Sunday Speaker Nabih Berri to call parliament to hold successive presidential elections sessions until a head of state is elected.
During his Sunday sermon at Bkirki, Rahi said: “Every state official must realize that he has been entrusted by the people and constitution to serve the public good.”
“If he does not, then he has betrayed his responsibilities and the people,” he added during the sermon that was attended by Army Commander Joseph Aoun.
“The presidential palace in Baabda needs such a president,” he went to say. “We thank God that the Maronite sect boasts officials who are responsible and of the desired quality.”
Moreover, he said Berri must urgently call parliament to session “until the election of such a president, without waiting for foreign powers to name their preferred candidate.”
The election of a president is the lawmakers’ top duty as stipulated by the constitution, Rahi continued.
“Failure to carry out this duty is a clear betrayal of the trust of the people who elected them,” he stated.
“Stop eliminating the Maronite sect,” he declared, saying: “It was a main component in the formation of Lebanon.”
He urged the election of a new president who will help restore normal functioning at state institutions, starting with the parliament, “which has lost is legislative power”, and the government, “which has lost its executive power,” given the presidential vacuum.
Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022. Bickering among political parties has prevented the election of a successor in spite of numerous electoral sessions that were held at parliament.
Since then, the government has been working in a caretaker capacity.
Rahi said it was time to “cease the practice of necessary legislations and appointments” that are a violation of the constitution.
The only necessary practice should be the election of a president, he stressed.
