by lbcgroup.tv — Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai stressed on Sunday that putting forward a presidential vacancy is fundamentally unacceptable, stressing that the election of a new president within the constitutional deadline is the only requirement. Rai’s comments were made during his Sunday mass sermon, whereby he indicated that speaking of presidential vacuum is constitutionally limited to the president’s resignation or death or a force majeure, according to articles 73 and 74 of the constitution. He then pointed out that it is the duty of political forces to agree on a figure or two who enjoy the characteristics that have become well-known and repeated. He also called on the parliament to take the initiative to elect the new president within the constitutional deadline that has begun. “Manipulation with the presidency is manipulation with the republic itself,” the Patriarch warned.