Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai said on Tuesday, September 19, that “nothing justifies the fact that a President of the Republic has not been elected since last September, as provided by Article 73 of the Constitution.” He reiterated his call for Parliament to “hold successive electoral sessions,” in accordance with the Constitution, warning against a lack of quorum.
Rai, who has been on a pastoral visit to Australia including Sydney and Melbourne since Friday evening, said that Bkerke will not nominate a candidate, since this goes against the principles of “democracy” and the “functions of Parliament.” “Behind the scenes, there are talks about the need to find a third candidate,” continued the patriarch at a conference held at Sydney’s Saint Maron Eparchy. He added, “We refuse this option. To preserve the dignity of the candidates (Sleiman) Frangieh and (Jihad) Azour, and out of respect for those who support them, the elections must take place at the end of an open session with successive rounds, and may the best candidate win. If neither of the two candidates obtains the majority of votes needed for election, due to wasted votes, it is at this point that dialogue can take place and consultations on the name of a third candidate can be conducted.”
Rai asserted that he had never said that he was in favor of the dialogue called for by the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.
“I have always said, long before Berri’s invitation, that dialogue resides in the parliamentary vote. Dialogue is the election (of a president). So is agreement. I did not say I was in favor of dialogue. I said that dialogue takes place once the various parties have reached an agreement on the matter. Parliament today is an electoral college. It’s through elections that they can dialogue,” Rai insisted.
He also reiterated his call for a special international conference on Lebanon “to implement the Taif Agreement, as well as UN Security Council resolutions 1559 (which calls for respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty and political independence), 1680 (which is related to the delimitation of borders between Lebanon and Syria and the establishment of diplomatic relations) and 1701 (which put an end to the conflict between Israel and Lebanon in 2006).
Rai also addressed the issue of displaced Syrians, believing that this flow represents “the greatest economic, security, cultural, political and demographic danger for Lebanon” while “the international community refuses to heed Lebanon’s demands.”
“It is a political position whose aim is to topple the regime in Syria. This is why the European Union refuses to help the displaced in Syria and insists on helping them in Lebanon. As a result, Lebanon alone is paying the price. We need to convince the international community that Lebanon can no longer bear this heavy burden. This is not the way to thank Lebanon for taking in the displaced, as a humanitarian act,” Rai concluded.
