Head of the Independence Movement Michel Moawad defended the patriarch’s visit to the Holy Land, describing the “Hezbollah-orchestrated” campaign against the head of the Maronite Church as an attempt to impose a political agenda on Bkirki.

“The campaign against the patriarch is an orchestrated one and those who stand behind it are well known to the public. It is an attempt to undermine Bkirki’s role and impose a political agenda on the patriarch and we will stand firm against it,” Moawad said during a news conference in his hometown Zgharta.

Moawad added that Hezbollah and its allies were attacking the patriarch because he represented the values of freedom and independence, which the Maronite church has long defended.

“Ironically, both Hezbollah and Israel were frustrated with the patriarch’s visit to the Holy Land.”

Moawad said all Christian parties should have expressed solidarity with the patriarch regardless of political affiliations, describing the March 8 Christian parties’ decision to remain silent as shameful.

“When Bkirki is under attack, we should all stand united to defend it regardless of our political alliances. The decision of Zgharta lawmakers to remain silent vis a vis this campaign is shameful.”

The media campaign against the patriarch and the obstruction of the presidential poll are part of bigger plot to paralyze state institutions, according to Moawad who argued that the constitution explicitly stipulates that parliament cannot hold legislative sessions before a president is elected.

Moawad warned that the failure to elect a president would result in deep divisions among the Lebanese, recalling that the presidential vacuum in 1988 ended in inter-Lebanese fighting, which eventually led to the Taif Accord.

“In 2007, the failure to elect a president led to the May 7 events that were followed by the Doha agreement. I warn against attempts to repeat this scenario in a bid to abolish the Taif accord,” Moawad said.

The head of the Independence Movement blamed the presidential vacuum on lawmakers who continue to boycott parliament sessions, arguing that the quorum for the election of a new president is defined in the constitution as an absolute majority.

“Assuming that the quorum to elect a president during the first round of voting is two thirds of parliament members as some are claiming, the quorum in subsequent voting rounds becomes the absolute majority of lawmakers.”

Moawad warned that Parliament’s failure to elect a new president would invite foreign meddling in Lebanese affairs.

“A two-thirds quorum blocks the election of a strong president whether he is a member of the March 8 camp or March 14 coalition and leads to the election of a weak candidate as a result of a compromise between regional powers.”

Moawad called on all March 14 parties to reject the two-thirds quorum condition and urged Speaker Nabih Berri to convene parliament to interpret the constitution.