The head of the Maronite Church, Patriarch Bechara al-Rai. (Credit: Bulent/Kilic/AFP/File photo)
BEIRUT — The head of the Maronite Church, Bechara al-Rai, called Sunday on Lebanese MPs to participate in the dialogue convened by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in order to elect Lebanon's next president. Lebanon, which has been confronting a severe economic crisis since 2019, has been without a head of state since October 2022, when Michel Aoun's term in office ended.
Rai had previously criticized the call for dialogue made a few weeks ago by the French special envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, as part of a French initiative for a way out of the crisis.
On Thursday, Berri committed to holding parliamentary election sessions, provided they are preceded by an extended dialogue bringing together the leaders of parliamentary groups in the chamber for seven days. His initiative, which was welcomed by Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), was criticized by the opposition.
"If the dialogue they are invited to takes place despite the tensions between acceptance and refusal, the MPs must participate without bias or a desire to impose their ideas, projects or points of view that exclude others," Rai said during his Sunday sermon. "Secondly, personal and partisan interests must be set aside, and the constitution must be respected and considered the only path to follow. We must also be honest, admit personal mistakes, and seek objective truth that liberates and unifies," the cardinal emphasized.
Lebanese Forces MP Ghayath Yazbeck addressed Rai via 'X' on Sunday, saying, "I am sorry … we did not understand your call to the deputies in today's sermon to participate in the dialogue because … in your previous sermon you said: 'No one understands why the June electoral session was adjourned in violation of Article 49 of the constitution, and the real and effective dialogue is the voting in the Parliament to elect a president.'"
Several political figures in the opposition accuse Berri of violating the constitution by calling for such a dialogue. During the presidential vacuum, the constitution provides that Parliament may only meet as an electoral college until the election of a new head of state. However, Parliament has failed on 12 occasions to elect Aoun's successor. At each electoral session, Berri has deemed that voting should be reset at a first round, meaning that a candidate needs a two-thirds majority to be elected. In a second-round vote, a candidate need only achieve a simple majority to be elected. Some experts say that Berri's decision to restart with a first-round vote at each session is unconstitutional and therefore illegal.
Hezbollah-FPM dialogue
Through its senior officials and MPs, Hezbollah also called on Sunday for parties to support Berri's initiative. Sheikh Nabil Kaouk, a member of the party's central council, stated Sunday during a religious ceremony in South Lebanon that the call for dialogue constitutes "a real opportunity to get out of the impasse," lamenting, however, that the "defiance and confrontation group does not want reconciliation, dialogue, or even the salvation of the country."
Speaking about the presidential election, Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah affirmed on Sunday in Ainata in the south that "the dialogue with the Free Patriotic Movement continues seriously to achieve results but requires time."
Relations between Hezbollah and the FPM have been tense in recent months, especially due to the presidential election. After initially supporting the candidacy of former minister Jihad Azour alongside the opposition, Gebran Bassil reopened dialogue channels with Hezbollah after months of frostiness between the parties over disagreements regarding Hezbollah's support for Marada leader Sleiman Frangieh in the battle for the presidency.
Finally, Hezbollah's parliamentary group leader, Mohammad Raad, assured on Sunday during a partisan ceremony in the village of Zebdine that his party had "a close alliance with our brothers in the Amal movement to ensure that the presidential election takes place and that a president who stabs the Resistance in the back is not elected."
