Al-Rahi Urges 'Immediate' Election of New President: I don't Nominate or Exclude Anyone
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi demanded MPs on Wednesday to “immediately elect a new president based on whom they think is the strongest” candidate.
"I don't have any (favored) presidential candidate and I don't nominate or exclude anyone,” al-Rahi told the diplomats of the five permanent member countries of the U.N. Security Council.
"This is because I respect democracy, the parliament and the MPs,” he explained.
He assured that all reports about him suggesting names “are not true.”
"MPs must head to the parliament and elect a president whom they think is the strongest,” al-Rahi stressed.
The patriarch convened with the American, British and Russian ambassadors to Lebanon and the French and Chinese charges d'affaires during an expanded meeting of the patriarchs of the Orient in Bkirki.
The meeting was dedicated for tackling the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Iraq in particular, where Islamic State militants have been waging a campaign against minorities, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.
Al-Rahi has repeatedly called for electing a new head of state “as soon as possible,” describing any delay in holding the crucial polls as “a big crime.”
Former President Michel Suleiman left the Baabda Palace on May 25 without a successor to take office in the coming six years as differences between the March 14 and the March 8 coalition prevented holding the vote at the parliament for 11 consecutive sessions.
Separately, the head of the Maronite Church is scheduled to travel to the Vatican on Thursday morning to inform officials there on the situation of Christians in Iraq.
S.D.B.
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