Catholic and Orthodox bishops met in Bkirki under the auspices of Patriarch Bechara Rai (second from left), February 1, 2023. (Credit: Twitter/@bkerki)
Catholic and Orthodox bishops met Wednesday with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai in Bkirki, where they asked him to convene key members of Lebanon's Christian political parties to break the presidential deadlock.
Last week, Rai received Hezbollah's Christian allies, Gebran Bassil and Sleiman Frangieh, both of whom are considered serious presidential candidates. Rai then received a delegation from the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), led by Walid Joumblatt.
Both the Amal Movement and Hezbollah have shown a willingness to support Frangieh, leader of the Marada Movement. This support is contingent on Frangieh's ability to garner 65 votes in Parliament without support from the country's two largest Christian parties: Bassil's Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces (LF).
Elect a president 'as soon as possible'
"We call on Parliament to perform its national duty quickly and elect a president," the bishops pleaded on Wednesday.
Parliament has held 11 presidential electoral sessions, but MPs repeatedly failed to elect a new head of state.
"We call on Patriarch Rai to hold the necessary meetings to this end and, in particular, to convene the Christian deputies to a meeting in Bkirki and to push them, together with the Muslim deputies, to elect a president as soon as possible," the bishops added in a joint statement.
The statement added that the bishops find the presidential vacancy "unacceptable" and said it "violates the Constitution."
Earlier on Wednesday, Maronite bishops reiterated their call for MPs to elect a president as soon as possible, asking them to assume the "responsibility of the collapse," as Lebanon experiences its first double executive vacancy.
Speaking from Bkirki last Wednesday, Bassil pleaded for a dialogue, chaired by Rai, to break the political deadlock. However, Rai did not appear very favorable to the idea of a Christian dialogue table under his leadership.
The FPM leader also said "it is a political and national folly to think that we can elect a president without the Christians." Bassil announced Sunday that he would run for president if no other candidate is agreed upon.
"Anyone who thinks he can elect a president without the majority of Christians is mistaken," said Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Wednesday. "This is no way to act when everyone knows the reality of the constitutional positions."
Geagea said his party, which thus far has supported the candidacy of MP Michel Moawad, would also consent to the election of General Joseph Aoun, the army commander-in-chief, if he is supported by "a majority of 86 votes."
There are a total of 128 MPs in Parliament.
On Tuesday, a PSP delegation said Gen. Aoun's name is "at the top" of the list of presidential candidates and has the support of several political parties and foreign countries.
Asked whether the PSP would continue to support Moawad for the presidency, Joumblatt told L'Orient-Le Jour: "We tried the Michel Moawad card, which did not succeed. We are now working for a median solution."