Metropolitan Elias Audi called on the Lebanese to hold the MPs they elected accountable for the promises they made and failed to fulfill.
“What encouraged them to do so is the citizens’ reluctance to hold them accountable,” he said.
In his Sunday sermon, the Greek-Orthodox Metropolitan of Beirut lamented that it “seems like there is no real will for reform in Lebanon, and no one wants to build the state.”
Therefore, he encouraged citizens to evaluate the performance of MPs. “Hold them accountable for their negligence in performing their duties as mandated by the constitution, and foremost among these duties is the election of a president for the country,” he said, asking, “Did a citizen hold a deputy accountable for his failure to fulfill this duty?”
“We need statesmen, not power hunters who exploit the state to oppress people and pursue their interests,” Audi said, warning that “every passing day aggravates the crisis,” forcing competent Lebanese to immigrate while “non -Lebanese (residents) multiply.”
He wondered whether there is any greater duty than to ensure a decent life for citizens in a safe and stable country. “Citizens complain while those in power live in a world far from reality, in the absence of a president whom the MPs did not see the necessity to elect,” he said.
