Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai during a mass in Diman, North Lebanon, on Aug. 27, 2023. (Credit: NNA)
Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai criticized Parliament and the government on Sunday, calling on them to respect the National Pact and the Taif Agreement, and to elect a president as soon as possible, asking why the pact has been violated for 10 months.
"If only the political leaders would listen to the word of God, especially those who have the possibility of opening the Lebanese Parliament and inviting the MPs to meet for consecutive sessions with the aim of electing a president of the republic, in accordance with Article 49 of the constitution," the head of the Maronite Church said during his Sunday homily in Dimane, the patriarchate's summer headquarters.
Article 49 stipulates that "The president of the republic is elected, in the first round, by secret ballot by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the chamber of deputies. In subsequent rounds of voting, an absolute majority is sufficient." Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has interpreted this procedure to mean that each new electoral session is a new first round.
The Patriarch's comments come at a time when caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is accused by his detractors, mainly the Christian parties, of seeking to monopolize presidential prerogatives, and Parliament is under fire for legislating during a presidential vacancy.
"Why is the country deprived of a president? Why has the National Pact of 1943, enshrined in the Taif Agreement and stipulating that the president must be a Maronite Christian, the head of parliament a Shiite Muslim and the head of government a Sunni Muslim, been violated for 10 months?" Rai continued.
"We ask those who violate this national pact: how do you balance these blatant violations against the Preamble to the constitution, which stipulates that no legitimacy is recognized for any power that contradicts the pact of living together. Doesn't this apply to the work of Parliament or the government?" he said.
"We broached this subject because we are attached to the national constants: the constitutional institutions, the National Pact, which is based on equity and respect. Lebanon is a country for all its inhabitants, and its sovereignty must apply to the whole territory," the patriarch added.
Twelve parliamentary sessions dedicated to electing a successor to former President Michel Aoun have ended in failure, due to a lack of consensus between parliamentary groups. Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, led by Berri, are backing Sleiman Frangieh for the presidency, while the opposition camp is backing former Finance Minister and current International Monetary Fund (IMF) official Jihad Azour.