Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai said on Sunday that parliament’s failed attempt to elect a president on Wednesday was a "cold-blooded violation of the constitution.”
He called the session a "farce" and urged every official to "admit their mistakes and correct them" after nearly eight months of presidential vacuum in Lebanon.
Four years since Lebanon went into a financial meltdown that marks its worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war, parliament failed for a 12th time to elect someone to fill the post, which is reserved for a Maronite Christian under the country's sectarian system.
On Wednesday, neither Jihad Azour nor Sleiman Frangieh came close to winning the 86 votes needed to win in a first round vote.
Azour won the support of 59 of 128 lawmakers. Frangieh secured 51.
The session broke down after the bloc led by Hezbollah withdrew following the first round of voting, breaking the quorum in the 128-member house. All lawmakers attended the session.
