Photo shows the bishops gathered at Dimane. ANI file photo
BEIRUT —An assembly of Maronite bishops issued a statement Wednesday calling on MPs to “reject the very idea of a presidential vacancy” as the country is in the midst of its presidential election period to find a successor for Michel Aoun, whose term of office ends on October 31.
“The fathers call on the MPs, whether they are in a group or independent, to reject the very idea of a presidential vacancy, and to participate in the election of a new president with the beginning of the constitutional deadline,” said the Maronite bishops at their monthly meeting in Diman, the patriarchate's summer headquarters, under the auspices of the head of the Maronite church Bechara al-Rai.
In Lebanese elections, Parliament is the body responsible for choosing the president.
The bishops on Wednesday urged for a president "who meets the criteria that are now well known." Rai has recently suggested that he supports a new president who is non-confrontational toward Hezbollah, though not from that party's political camp.
Wednesday's statement also derided "official slowness in forming a new government," as the formation of Lebanon's new cabinet has stalled since the parliamentary election in May.
Last Sunday, during a homily in Diman, Archbishop Rai stated that the prospect of a presidential vacancy, should Parliament fail to elect a new head of state, would be "betrayal."
Lebanon risks a period of a presidential vacancy. The constitutional two-month deadline to elect a successor to Aoun opened on Sept. 1 and will end Oct. 31. Najib Mikati's cabinet has been in charge of caretaking affairs since May 22, when it assumed caretaker status following parliamentary elections, but this stagnation could drag on if an agreement is not reached to form a new government.
