Al-Rahi Discusses Presidential Elections with Suleiman, Hariri

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi discussed the upcoming presidential elections with President Michel Suleiman and former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the state-run National News Agency reported on Friday.

Al-Rahi telephoned on Thursday night Hariri to discuss the presidential elections, and the two leaders stressed the need to hold the elections “within the constitutional deadline,” according to the NNA.

The polls should be held as soon as possible in order to preserve Lebanon's stability and democracy, they added.

The new president should be up to the task of ruling Lebanon and representing the country on the regional and international scenes, they stated.

And on Friday, al-Rahi met with Suleiman in Rome and the two men discussed the presidential vote, in addition to the situation in the country.

"Both Suleiman and Rahi want MPs to continue attending parliamentary sessions dedicated for electing a new president,” the NNA quoted sources in the delegation to Rome as saying.

They considered that participation in these sessions are a constitutional and democratic “duty.”

The sources noted that al-Rahi and Suleiman's stance might play a role in pressuring MPs to attend the session.

"Both men also expressed concern over a possible vacuum,” the NNA said.

Separately, they agreed that all achievements on Lebanon, including the South's liberation, must serve the country's interests not those of any foreign nation.

"What happens to sovereignty when each party decides to go fight with a group, whether alongside the Syrian regime or opposition forces?” Suleiman and Rahi asked according to the quoted sources.

"The Baabda Declaration is similar to the Constitution," Suleiman and Rahi stated.

The same sources said the head of the state wants a defense strategy that would protect the resistance.

"He has demanded Hizbullah to withdraw from Syria before, and noted that there is no state without a defense strategy.”

The Patriarch and the president also talked about the ongoing preparation ahead of Sunday's canonization ceremony in St. Peter's for Pope John Paul II and his Italian predecessor John XXIII.

The first round of the presidential elections was held on Wednesday, but parliament failed to elect a new head of state after none of the candidates, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Democratic Gathering MP Henri Helou, received the needed 86 votes of lawmakers.

The second round of the polls will be held on April 30 where a candidate needs 65 votes to be elected president.

President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ends on May 25.

M.T./S.D.B.

G.K.