Al-Rahi rejects 'prior agreement' on president and 'unconstitutional' decrees

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed Sunday that the election of a new president does not happen through “the heresy of prior agreement on him,” but rather through “a vote combined with consultations.”

“We hope there are no parties deliberately seeking to chop off the head of the state so that Lebanon appears to the world as a failed state that needs changing,” al-Rahi said in his New Year’s Day mass.

Commenting on the latest controversy related to the approval of decrees by the caretaker government, al-Rahi said he rejects “the passing of decrees that do not abide by the constitution and do not take into consideration the president’s exclusive powers,” the patriarch added.

“Everyone must become convinced that the election of a president is the only gateway toward solutions,” al-Rahi went on to say, noting that the new president must be “honest, brave, feared and fearless.”

“He must unify the national matters, put everyone under the wings of the state, work on repatriating the displaced Syrians, and take initiatives to return Lebanon to its historic role,” the patriarch stated.