Al-Rahi says Berri responsible for delaying president election

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi has noted that the Vatican is “working as a moral force with foreign countries to push for the election of a president” for Lebanon, without “interfering in names” of candidates.

“The pope is asking why no president has been elected yet,” al-Rahi added, in an interview with Radio Voice of Lebanon (100.5).

“We say that the person responsible for this is Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, because he is putting the key (of parliament) in his pocket, something that he does not have the right to do,” the patriarch said, calling on Berri to “open parliament’s door” to MPs so that they can elect a president.

“They are demanding an agreement on the president and this is constitutionally wrong, because every Maronite has the right to become president, and they know this,” al-Rahi lamented.

Noting that “what’s happening today will delay the election of a president,” the patriarch voiced regret that “the presidential juncture is becoming more and more distant as it is being linked to a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza, at a time the country is dying.”

Lebanon “needs a president who enjoys the confidence of the Lebanese people and the world countries and who has knowledge in the issues of security and economy,” al-Rahi went on to say.

He also reiterated his call for Lebanon’s “neutrality,” saying it is “part of the Lebanese system.”

“After we were pushed away from it, we were entangled in a war that neither the Lebanese government nor the people want,” al-Rahi added.