Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai said he felt shame towards “the obstructive leaders who mock the international community for helping Lebanon elect a president and wish for the failure of their internal or external initiative, whereas these nations care about the necessity of electing a president to our country.”
“This is a disgrace,” he insisted.
Speaking at a mass celebrated on the occasion of Saint Joseph Day in Aintoura on Tuesday, he reiterated his appreciation for the efforts of the Quintet Ambassadors Committee that visited him yesterday and wished it success.
After pointing out that despite the chaos that the country has been facing for a year and a half without reaching an agreement on a candidate, the solution lies in the Constitution.
“The solution is outlined in the Constitution,” he said. However, agreeing on a person is contrary to the Constitution, democracy, and logic in the prevailing atmosphere of division in the country,” he told the Quintet Committee.
Al-Rai explained that consensus gives the right to veto individuals and creates unnecessary enmities, and that there’s a big difference between vetoing a person and not voting for them.
“The solution is to head to Parliament and elect the president, according to Article 95 of the Constitution, in consecutive sessions. And as a result of the voting, the MPs agree on choosing the president needed by the country in the current circumstances, and the one who gets the required number of voters is the one they agree on,” the Maronite Patriarch concluded.
