Maronite Church leader Béchara Rai (2nd right) and Commander-in-Chief of the Lebanese Army Joseph Aoun (far right) during a tour of Baalbeck-Hermel, in front of a monument erected in memory of former minister Majed Sabri Hamadeh, on June 4, 2024. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — On Tuesday, the head of the Maronite Church, Bechara Rai, once again called for the election of a president for Lebanon, 19 months after the end of Michel Aoun's six-year term.
At the end of a tour of Baalbeck, in the Bekaa region, with, among others, the commander-in-chief of the Lebanese Army, General Joseph Aoun, Rai spoke of "the need to elect a president as soon as possible,” according to comments cited by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The Maronite patriarch also praised "the efforts of the army command to preserve the country and strengthen ties between the Lebanese.”
Commander-in-Chief Aoun said the army is aware of the region’s needs and its peoples’ demands. “The army is doing what it can to help them and stand by their side, but its capacities and resources are limited,” he said.
The troops "will remain steadfast in the face of challenges, committed to their oath to defend the homeland and the people, and will steer clear of the climate of division that our country is unfortunately witnessing.”
The National Moderation bloc (Sunni MPs) have been trying to launch their own initiative to facilitate discussions between MPs over the last several weeks, but to no avail. The Speaker of the House makes any convening of Parliament conditional on a national dialogue being held beforehand, which the Opposition rejects. Nabih Berri and Hezbollah refuse to accept any call for dialogue unless it is issued by the head of the legislature.
Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader Taymour Joumblatt also launched his own initiative to initiate dialogue between the various. Hezbollah and Amal are backing the candidacy of Marada leader Sleiman Frangieh, while the Opposition, joined by the Free Patriotic Movement (Aounist, normally allied with Hezbollah) support the candidacy of former Finance Minister and International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive Jihad Azour.