Rai says failure to elect president a grave issue

Fuente: 
The Daily Star Lebanon
Fecha de publicación: 
06 Jun 2014

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said Friday that the lawmakers’ failure to elect a new president was a grave issue that targeted the people and their interests.

“I told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that holding the presidential election is not a matter of luxury or a daily political affair that can be taken lightly,” Rai said while visiting the offices of the Maronite Pension Fund.

“It is an issue related to the fate of people, their day-to-day lives and future,” he added. “The policy that led to the failure of holding the presidential election targets an entire people and their life and presence."

The patriarch said the policy would lead the Lebanese people to poverty and push them to emigrate out of the country.

Lebanon failed last month to elect a new head of state, plunging the country into a presidential void on May 25.

A new session to vote for a president is scheduled for June 9, but the election is unlikely to be successful in the absence of a consensus between rival political groups.