Mazloum: Muslims May Elect President if Christians Cannot Settle their Disputes

Bishop Samir Mazloum reiterated the anger of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi against lawmakers for extending their own term and failing to elect a new president, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah on Sunday.

He told the daily: “Should the disputes between the Christian parties persist, our partners in Lebanon, meaning the Muslims, may resort to resolving the presidential deadlock themselves.”

“This may lead to the marginalization of Christians,” he warned.

“Al-Rahi may not be too eager to meet with MPs following the extension, but that does not mean that the doors of Bkirki will be closed to officials,” Mazloum stressed.

The Maronite Patriarchate will continue its efforts to bridge divides between disputed parties and it will continue to remind officials of their duties.

“The presidential elections are a victim of the developments in Lebanon and the officials' failure to assume their duties,” he stressed.

Al-Rahi has repeatedly urged officials to stage the presidential elections.

On Wednesday, the political deadlock in Lebanon deepened after lawmakers voted once again to delay parliamentary elections and announcing parliament would extend its mandate until 2017.

The extension decision was met by a huge popular dismay.

The extension session was boycotted by MP Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement lawmakers and the Kataeb party, which is affiliated with the March 14 alliance.

The lawmakers, who voted in favor of the draft-law, claim they need to extend their own term in office because the security situation is too dire to allow holding elections amid Syria's civil war.

They also say extending parliament's mandate will prevent another power vacuum from forming in a country already divided along sectarian and regional lines.

Lebanon has been without a head of state since May when President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended without a successor.

M.T.