Published on 02/12/2024
Pope Francis sent an “urgent call to all Lebanese politicians” to elect a president “immediately” in order to regularize the work of the country’s institutions.
“I extend an urgent call to all Lebanese politicians to immediately elect a president of the republic,” the Pope said in St. Peter’s Square after Sunday prayers.
Lebanon’s institutions need to “start functioning normally again to undertake the necessary reforms and sustain the country’s role as an example of peaceful cohabitation between different religions”, Francis said.
Lebanese parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri has called a presidential election for January 9 in a bid to end a two-year leadership vacuum.
Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022.
Neither of the two main blocs in parliament — the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its opponents — have the majority required to elect a head of state and they have been unable to agree on a consensus candidate.
