Bkirki to Host Meeting for Major Christian Leaders
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi is seeking to hold a meeting to gather key Christian leaders to end the presidential deadlock, media reports said on Sunday.
According to the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anbaa Bkirki will seek during the meeting to convince the prominent Christian figures to assume their responsibilities and agree on the election of the “best candidate.”
“The president should be the best representative of his sect and the nation,” sources told the daily.
al-Rahi continuously expressed belief that the political powers should elect a consensual president who is not affiliated to March 8 or 14 alliances and considered not provocative.
Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, who has received the backing of the March 14 camp and his March 8 rival Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun are both running for the elections.
But Aoun has not officially nominated himself, claiming there should be consensus on him first. His Change and Reform bloc and other MPs from the March 8 alliance have been boycotting parliamentary sessions aimed at electing a president, causing a lack of quorum.
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has nominated Aley lawmaker Henri Helou but vowed to withdraw his candidacy if the other candidates decided to do so in an attempt to resolve the country's presidential deadlock.
Lebanon has been plunged into a leadership vacuum after Michel Suleiman's presidential term ended on May 25 with rival political blocs still divided over a new leader.
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