Lebanon: Rai Accuses Officials of Creating Post-Aoun Political 'Vacuum'

Arab World

October 30th, 10:45am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai meets with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 15, 2020. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS

Maronite Patriach Beshara al-Rai accused the Lebanese authorities of creating a political vacuum by leaving the presidency unfilled with outgoing president Michel Aoun's term ending on Monday. Al-Rai said in his Sunday sermon that officials had "left this supreme and essential presidency in a vacuum, either deliberately, or out of stupidity or selfishness." He described the presidency as a “cornerstone” for the unity of the state. The “presidential vacuum in Lebanon is not a fate but rather a conspiracy,” al-Rai cautioned. Aoun left the presidential palace in Baabda on Sunday, a day ahead of the official end of his six-year term but without a successor. Aoun leaves the fragile country in an unprecedented situation where the presidency is vacant at the same time as the cabinet operates in a caretaker capacity.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3959846/lebanon-rai-accuses-officials-creating-post-aoun-political-vacuum