(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said that Lebanese lawmakers have abused their parliamentary mandate by leaving the country without a president for more than four months.
Rai says the Lebanese have lost confidence in their Parliament, saying working on behalf of the people is “not owned” by lawmakers.
“We appeal to the Parliament in Lebanon, which has failed in its 13th session in electing a president,” said the patriarch during his Sunday mass sermon in Rome.
Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Sleiman’s term ended on May 25.
Parliament, which is tasked with choosing a successor, has failed to elect a president amid a boycott of election sessions by March 8 lawmakers.
Rai also said that the nearly five-month presidential vacuum “is a disgrace to Parliament, which, apparently, has yet to come up with a serious new initiative to secure a quorum and elect a president.”
The patriarch called for presidential elections to precede the parliamentary vote, arguing that the move “would put an end to the series of constitutional violations.”
Rai said that the president of the country must be “moral and impartial” and enjoy “spiritual and moral integrity.”