The Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut, Elias Audi. (Credit: NNA)
The Greek Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut, Elias Audi, on Sunday described as "a lie" the consensus some political leaders are calling for ahead of the election of a new president. Audi called on Parliament to hold an open session until it elects a new head of state.
Lebanon has been without a president since the end of Michel Aoun's term on Oct. 31.
In his homily at the Cathedral of St. George of the Greek Orthodox in Beirut, the metropolitan said that Lebanon is "governed by people who do not care about the country, its children, and whose concern is for positions and personal interests, even if it is at the expense of the country and the people."
Audi blamed Lebanon's leaders for not caring about the political stalemate, the state of decay of public administrations and the condition of the country's people. "All they care about is to fill their pockets," he said. He expressed regret that the celebrations commemorating Lebanon's independence on Nov. 22 took place "in sadness, without a president, without a government and without people who demand accountability from the political class that blocks all reforms and obstructs justice."
"The [presidential] vacuum is better than the solutions for the authorities" who are "irresponsible and greedy," he continued.
Audi also denounced the "weekly farce" of electoral sessions in Parliament, which have thus far failed to result in the election of a new president. This farce "seems to have no end, because its protagonists ignore the rules of a democratic regime," Audi said.
"Any agreement or consensus they call for is a lie," the bishop added.
The Hezbollah camp has been calling for such an agreement since the beginning of the election period. All seven parliamentary sessions thus far dedicated to electing a new president ended when Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and Free Patriotic Movement MPs withdrew from Parliament, causing a loss of quorum. Their withdrawals have meant that Parliament has never progressed beyond a first-round vote for the next president, and no candidate has ever received the two-thirds majority needed in the first round to be elected.
"Don't they know that they have to hold an open parliamentary session, in which the rounds of voting follow each other and the candidates compete in a clear manner?" Audi asked. "Obstruction is a crime against the homeland and against the voters," he went on, accusing parliamentarians who fail to perform their constitutional duty of "betraying the trust of the people."
"The country is in a tragic state and the MPs are having fun, blowing up the quorum and preventing the election of a president. Some of them are not even ashamed to admit that the foreigner has a say in a national matter," he said.