Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai Sunday, June, 18, 2023. (Credit: Michel Akl)
BEIRUT — Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai Sunday criticized the latest parliamentary presidential election session, held Wednesday, calling it a "farce."
Earlier this week, Parliament met for a 12th time to try to elect a president without success. Lebanon has been without a head of state since Michel Aoun left office on October 31.
During Sunday mass Rai said: "How can we, amid the crisis that is deeply hurting our people, accept the farce that is the latest presidential election session that took place last Wednesday?"
Rai also said Wednesday's session was a "cold-blooded violation of the constitution," urging every official to "admit their mistakes and correct them" after nearly eight months of presidential vacuum in Lebanon.
Rai's remarks come four days after the parliamentary election session that pitted former IMF official Jihad Azour against Marada Movement leader Sleiman Frangieh. Neither candidate garnered enough votes to secure the presidency.
In the aftermath of Wednesday's vote, Azour — backed by most of the opposition — received 59 votes while Frangieh — supported by Hezbollah and the Amal Movement — secured 51 votes. Six MPs voted for former minister Ziad Baroud (seven, according to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri), eight voted for "The New Lebanon," and one vote each went to Lebanese Army commander-in-chief Joseph Aoun and entrepreneur Jihad al-Arab. One blank vote was also recorded. During that session, one vote was misplaced and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri refused to repeat the voting process, saying that one vote will not make a difference.
'Dialogue'
“Those in power should go back to praying and standing before god in a spirit of humbleness and forgiveness while admitting personal mistakes, in order to fix them, and to attend to the needs of the state and its citizens from another perspective,” Rai added during the prayer.
Rai said Saturday that he has no preference for any candidate in the presidential election.
For his part, Beirut's Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Elias Audi also criticized the behavior of certain MPs during the last session.
"Whoever voted and left Parliament, as if out of a lack of interest in the country and the outcome of the vote, did they do the right thing?" he asked, referring to Amal and Hezbollah MPs who made the session inquorate after leaving Parliament.
"Is the fact that one vote is missing an ordinary thing that doesn't deserve to be dwelt upon?" he added. "How can the country be built if MPs don't respect the constitution or the election of a president, in a serious and democratic way... At the service of the whole country, not just certain groups?"
For his part Nabil Kaouk, Hezbollah's senior political bureau member, said Sunday that the session "carried a clear and concise message that the only choice is dialogue." He then criticized "those who are delusional and dreamers with unrealistic slogans."
Macron and MBS
French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Friday "stressed the need to quickly put an end to the institutional political vacuum in Lebanon."
The French president highlighted that the absence of a president for eight months "remains the major obstacle to resolving the severe socio-economic crisis" in the country.
Earlier this week, Parliament met for a 12th time to try to elect a president without success. Lebanon has been without a head of state since Michel Aoun left office on October 31.
During Sunday mass Rai said: "How can we, amid the crisis...