Sfeir : What decisions will be left for the president ?

 

Christian Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir sounded outraged when he asked his visitors “How can they (opposition) ask for an agreement on appointments and the distribution of quotas prior to the election of the President?

 

What decisions are we leaving for him?”.

 

Sfeir called on parliament deputies to “expedite the election of the President,” saying that “the purpose of the election delay is to block the election process.”

 

Without naming the parliament speaker Nabih Berri, Sfeir renewed his criticism for the continued closure of the parliament and the setting of preconditions in order to delay the vote.

 

He asked his visitors “Is it permissible to continue the status quo, and is it conceivable to prevent the President from exercising his powers , through the insistence of some people to force an agreement in advance that names the new army commander before the election of the President ?” He added: “How can they ask for an agreement on who should have which ministry in the next government, before the president is elected ?”

 

The Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah-led opposition is insisting on an agreement that names the new army commander that will replace General Michel Suleiman after he is elected as a president . The opposition is also insisting on controlling several ministerial posts and of having a veto power in the new government .

 

The new president usually decides on all these issues after consultation with the parliament leaders , and this is why (according to analysts) Sfeir is outraged and strongly feels that the opposition is trying to undermine the role of the Christian community in Lebanon.

 

The president of Lebanon has to be a Christian Maronite, the Speaker a Muslim Shiite and the Prime Minister a Muslim Sunnite.

 

Lebanon has been without a president since November 23 when the term of Emile Lahoud expired.