Independence Movement leader Michel Moawad warned Friday against a prolonged presidential vacuum, saying the repeated failure of lawmakers to elect a president has obstructed the work of state institutions.

“The only way to revive state institutions and protect the Lebanese–both Christians and Muslims–is through the swift election of a president,” Moawad told a news conference.

Moawad said lawmakers across the political spectrum assume responsibility for the presidential vacuum and added that a government paralysis threatens the Cabinet’s ability to address a number of urgent issues affecting ordinary Lebanese.

These issues include solid waste management across Lebanon, finding export markets for Lebanon’s agricultural produce and  investigating human rights violations in Roumieh prison.

Moawad said the government has yet to find an alternative to the Naameh landfill – where Sukleen, the private waste management firm whose contract is set to expire by Jan. 17, dumps all of Beirut and Mount Lebanon’s collected waste.

Farmers are also suffering as a result of  the deteriorating security situation in Syria where land shipping accounting for more than 70% of Lebanon’s agricultural exports, has been halted, Moaward said.

Recently leaked video footage showing Islamist prisoners being tortured by police members in Roumieh prison also requires the government to urgently meet and launch thorough investigations into the incident, Moawad said.

“The issue of torture in Lebanese prisons is a national cause for concern. It doesn’t concern only Sunnis,” Moawad said.

The Independence Movement leader also warned against Hezbollah’s continued involvement in the Syrian conflict, cautioning religious minority groups against taking side with President Bashar Assad’s regime.

“The regime is falling apart and isn’t capable of protecting itself, let alone anyone else. The longer the regime stays in power, the longer Syria will suffer from terrorism, extremism and destruction,” Moawad said.

In other words, it is only a matter of time before the Syrian regime collapses, Moawad added, highlighting that ongoing negotiations are aimed at devising a new power balance in the post-Assad era.

The inevitable fall of the Syrian regime should prompt Hezbollah to reconsider its involvement in fighting alongside Assad forces, Moawad said, warning that the continued participation of Hezbollah in the ongoing conflict will deepen divisions among the Lebanese and further fuel sectarian tensions.

Moawad added that only the army can protect the Lebanese against terrorist threats, denouncing calls for the formation of sectarian militias and attempts to tarnish the image of Lebanon’s armed forces.