Lebanon”s top Maronite Christian cleric expressed harsh criticism of his country’s failed attempt to elect a president last week.
Last Wednesday, Hezbollah and its allies blocked an attempt by factions, including the main Christian parties, to elect an Internation Monetary Fund (IMF) official as president, marking the 12th time parliament failed to elect someone to the post. The post, which under the Lebanese sectarian system is reserved for a Maronite Christian, has been vacant since the term of the Hezbollah-allied Michel Aoun ended in October.
According to the Saudi al-Arabia website, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai said during a Sunday sermon that the country”s constitution and democratic system have been violated in “cold blood” during the failed attempt to elect a new president and warned that divisions in the nation had widened.
Rai, a critic of Hezbollah who has repeatedly called for the position of president to be filled, called Wednesday”s session a “farce”.
Rai did not explain what he meant when he said that the constitution and the democratic system had been violated at the parliamentary session but remarked that the “wound” of division had widened when unity was needed in a country in a financial crisis since 2019.
According to Reuters, the Greek Orthodox Archbishop, Elias Audi, also criticized Hezbollah and its allies without naming them, saying during his Sunday sermon that those who withdrew appeared “uninterested” in Lebanon.
Wednesday’s vote in the Lebanese parliament was split along sectarian lines, with Christian parties supporting Jihad Azour, the IMF”s Middle East director and an ex-finance minister, and Shia factions Hezbollah and Amal against him.
Azour won votes from 59 of 128 lawmakers, short of the 86 needed to win a first-round vote. Suleiman Frangieh, a Hezbollah-backed Christian, got 51.
The Hezbollah-allied Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri ended the session when lawmakers from Hezbollah and its allies withdrew, denying a quorum for a second round when 65 votes are needed to win.
Some pro-Azour lawmakers demanded a recount or a new vote after it emerged that a ballot was missing. Berri refused, saying this would not change the result.
Hezbollah and its allies attacked Azour, calling him a candidate for confrontation. Without naming him, Lebanon”s Shia mufti accused Azour of being backed by Israel.
