Bassil Rebuffs 'Conditional' Election of a President

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil stressed on Tuesday that it is “unacceptable to set conditions in return for the election of a president.

“Setting conditions for the election of a president is what made Bkirki raise its voice, and we understand that,” Bassil said after a visit to Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi.

“We support a national accord which brings together Christian and Muslim nationals, be it their agreement over an electoral law or the election of a president. The president is the sole guarantor of the constitution and the Lebanese as a whole,” Bassil added.

The Minister also stressed the importance of national understanding and acknowledgment of one another.

“We can never reach agreement at the expense of marginalizing others. We currently experience a phase which aims to gather the Lebanese rather than take them apart,” he concluded.

Bassil's visit to Bkirki came in a show of support to Rahi and his comments over the weekend that criticized the “package deal” suggested by Nabih Berri.

Rahi on Sunday blasted calls for the “package deal” that precedes the election of a president, noting that any candidate who accepts it has no “dignity.”

His comments triggered a response on Berri's end who said that his suggestion is “more constitutional than any other suggestion.”