Al-Rahi to Support Any Presidential Candidate if Rivals Agree
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi reportedly blesses any meeting that would gather Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea to bridge the gap.
“We don't oppose the election of Aoun as a president... I support him, but he has to head to the parliament and convince lawmakers of voting for him,” al-Rahi was quoted as saying by sources in comments published in the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Friday.
Al-Rahi stressed that his only interest is to end the presidential vacuum, pointing out that he will only be an observer to analyze the much-expected dialogue between the two Christian foes.
“I have called on the (four) Maronite leaders to meet but there's difficulty in gathering them under one ceiling to agree on a candidate,” sources quoted al-Rahi as saying, reiterating calls on lawmakers to attend a parliamentary session set to elect a new head of state.
“It's a shame that they have met to extend their (parliamentary) term but refuse to meet to elect a new president.”
Lebanon's presidential crisis has spilled over into parliament, which has failed to hold legislative sessions to elect a new head of state.
The Lebanese parliament is tasked by the constitution to select a president, a decision that has already been put off more than a dozen of times as the war in Syria continues to divide rival political blocs.
The term of President Michel Suleiman ended in May.
According to the sources, Aoun will propose an initiative during his meeting with Geagea, which is expected to kick off at the beginning of the new year.
Both Aoun and Geagea have announced their candidacies for the presidency. Their rivalry and the failure of the different parties to agree on a compromise candidate caused the vacuum at the presidential palace.
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