Rai insists there be a new president before the end of Aoun's term

BEIRUT — Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai once again on Sunday insisted on the need to form a new government and elect a successor to President Michel Aoun before the end of the latter's term on Oct. 31, as the risk of a total vacancy in the executive power continues to hang over Lebanon.

The patriarch also called for the protection of the judiciary against any "politicization or compromise" and for the "preservation of the investigation into the deadly Beirut port explosion," especially after a decision by caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury to appoint an alternate judge to rule on “urgent” matters, since the main judge in charge of the probe, Tarek Bitar, cannot resume his examination of the case due to assorted outstanding appeals in the case. Khoury's move has been widely interpreted as a desire to remove Bitar from the investigation.

Meanwhile, government formation negotiations have yet yield results, although Mikati promised last Thursday from Baabda to meet again with President Michel Aoun upon his return from a trip abroad. "I will not leave the palace until I have formed a government," he assured in reference to his next visit to Baabda. Mikati's ministerial team has been serving in a caretaker capacity since May 22 following parliamentary elections.

In reference to cabinet formation and the upcoming expiration of his presidential mandate, Aoun, for his part, has said, “I will leave Baabda if the situation is normal and nobody means any ill will." This statement has given rise to concern among observers that Aoun will seek to remain in Baabda Palace after his term ends under the pretext that a caretaker cabinet cannot exercise the president's prerogatives.

'Resistance is not limited to weapons'

"We raise our voice to demand the formation of a new capable government and the election of a new president of the republic who has qualities around which there is agreement among the Lebanese, before the end of President Michel Aoun's term of office on Oct. 31," Rai said in his Sunday homily delivered at a mass for the "Martyrs of the Lebanese resistance" in Mayfouq, in the district of Jbeil.

Rai also said that "resistance is not limited to weapons," in an implicit criticism of the arsenal of Hezbollah, the only faction to have kept its weapons after the end of the Civil War in 1990. The resistance "encompasses the preservation of internal unity and absolute loyalty to Lebanon …," he noted.

Earlier in the day, Nabil Kaouk, a member of Hezbollah's central council, said his party has made "important efforts in the past few days to remove obstacles and accelerate efforts to form the government," expressing hope that a cabinet will be formed by the end of September.

Protecting the judiciary

The Maronite patriarch also called for "protecting the judiciary from any politicization, compromise, or hostage taking by influential people" and warned against "any decision that undermines the entity" of this power. He called for "preserving the investigation" into the Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut port blast "so that justice is done and the culprits are held accountable."

These words come after Khoury approved the appointment of an alternate judge to rule on urgent matters and while the investigation is currently suspended because of the many appeals filed to remove Bitar by officials and elected representatives prosecuted by the court. L'Orient-Le Jour has learned from judicial sources that Khoury recently proposed to the Higher Judicial Council that Samaranda Nassar, the first investigating judge in North Lebanon, be appointed in this role. Nassar is known to be close to Aoun's camp.

Relatives of the tragedy's victims have filed complaints against Khoury and Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, who has still not signed the judicial appointments allowing the investigation to resume. Families of the victims also called on Friday for the formation of an international fact-finding commission under the aegis of the UN.