On the eve of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, the Mufti of the Republic, Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian, welcomed the “initiatives and proposals by certain political parties,” to break the deadlocked election of a president of the republic, more than a year and a half since the top post became vacant.
“The positive initiatives, consultations and proposals we are seeing from certain political forces give us hope that the Lebanese have the opportunity to elect a president and emerge from the crisis,” Derian said in a Eid al-Fitr message sent on Monday from the holy city of Mecca.
In the message addressed to Muslims in particular and the Lebanese in general, the Mufti urged the parties “to make more efforts in this direction,” while deploring that “the delay of the presidential elections has become a burden both for the country and its citizens.”
Preaching moderation and humility, Derian said, “moderation is not weakness nor surrender, it is wisdom and awareness to preserve the country’s entity.”
He also stressed that “the election of a president is the main pillar for putting Lebanon on the right path,” urging the various parties “to avoid provocation by seeking the election of a unifying president who respects and applies the Constitution in a professional manner, and implements the Taif Agreement to save Lebanon and the Lebanese from the suffering in which they find themselves.”
Derian described the situation as “difficult for many years, and not only because of the Gaza war,” while urging “the leaders to work first and foremost for the country’s prosperity, by implementing the expected reforms.”
