Matar: Bkirki Rejects Proposal of Two-Year Presidential Term

Beirut Maronite Bishop Boulos Matar refuted claims that Bkirki had proposed that a president be elected for a two-year term, noting that attempts to drag the name of the Maronite patriarchate in this debate “are not innocent,” reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Anba on Sunday.

He told the daily: “The shortening of the term of the president violates the dignity of the Lebanese presidency.”

He clarified that former Prime Minister Hussein al-Husseini had made the suggestion on reducing the president's term, not Bkirki.

Matar added that Husseini had good intentions when he made his proposal, reiterating however his rejection of it.

“Bkirki seeks the election of a head of state as soon as possible and for a full term, not a diminished one,” he remarked.

Moreover, he rejected linking the presidential elections to resolving the crisis in Syria, noting that no one can guarantee when the conflict will end.

“How can we possibly wait for the end of the crisis when Syria itself recently elected a president and new parliament,” he wondered.

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 without the election of a successor.

Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps have thwarted the polls.

Media reports over the past week have spoken of proposals calling for shortening the term of a potential “transitional president.”