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Cardinal Rai renews call for electing president to end power vacuum

19-07-2015 | 05:40

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Cardinal Rai renews call for electing president to end power vacuum

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Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Beshara Boutros al-Rai hoped on Sunday for an end to the power vacuum Lebanon has been reeling from since May 2014.

“We pray for the election of a head of state to revive the country’s constitutional institutions,” Rai said during a sermon at Annaya marking the 50th anniversary of the beatification of Saint Charbel.

The patriarch made his plea to the Saint in order to “enlighten” politicians to end the presidential void that has been crippling Lebanon's top Christian post.

Rai also called for political solutions to regional conflicts, hoping that refugees will return safe and sound to their homeland.

Lebanon officially entered presidential vacuum last year on May 25 after the six-year term of former President Michel Sleiman expired.

Lawmakers have repeatedly failed to choose a successor to the head of state. The impasse highlights the stark political divisions in the country.

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