Al-Rahi Urges Lawmakers to Realize Risks of Presidential Vacuum

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi reiterated on Sunday calls on lawmakers to end the parliament paralysis and elect a new head of state.

“It is time for the Lebanese, in particular the MPs to wake their conscience and realize the risks taken by the delay in electing a new president,” al-Rahi said during his Sunday sermon.

He stressed that the presidential vacuum is paralyzing the parliament, which forcefully extended its term but obstructed the presidency elections.

“They should recognize the atrocity committed by the presidential vacuum, which is risking the stability of the cabinet, obstructing the appointment of civil servants and emptying the embassies from its ambassadors,” al-Rahi added.

The patriarch called on lawmakers to acknowledge their “personal sins.”

Vacuum striking the presidential post is having a tough impact on the cabinet and the parliament as the state is threatened with further crises over ongoing rows between the political arch-foes.

Lebanon has been without a head state since May when the term of President Michel Suleiman ended without the election of his successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps have thwarted the elections.

The differences between the ministers on the amendment of the mechanism prompted Prime Minister Tammam Salam to suspend sessions in the past two weeks giving way for the cabinet members to reach an agreement on the formula, which he wants it to be based on article 65 of the constitution.

The current mechanism, which was adopted after the cabinet assumed the prerogative of the president in accordance with the constitution, states that ministers should give unanimous support to the government's decisions.

But it proved to be troublesome after some ministers resorted to veto power.

The sessions resumed on Thursday.