Independence Movement leader Michel Moawad urged Saturday Lebanese political factions to stop seeking bargains and elect a president.

“It is about time that we elect a president who will build a strong Lebanon as envisioned by former President Rene Moawad who sacrificed his life to defend our country’s sovereignty and independence,” Michel Moawad said at the annual mass to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the death of his father former President Rene Moawad.

The mass, which was celebrated at Saint John Cathedral in Zgharta, was attended by a large number of state officials including representatives of Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Tamam Salam along with religious figures, politicians and lawmakers.

“President Moawad was a strong president not because he was the most popular leader or because his party was represented by a large parliamentary bloc or had an arsenal of weapons but because he stood for an independent and sovereign Lebanon,” Moawad said following the mass.

The mass was celebrated by Bishop Boulos Abdel Sater and Priests Estephan Al Khoury and Jean Maura with the participation of Vatican Ambassador to Lebanon Gabriel Caccia.

In his sermon, Bishop Abdel Sater praised the qualities of President Moawad and his commitment to preserve Lebanon’s sovereignty and Independence.

Abdel Sater said former President Moawad was assassinated because he sought to unite all Lebanese behind one agenda: to build a strong state that wields its authority across the Lebanese territory and defends the country against foreign ambitions.

“They assassinated him because they feared his success,” Abdel Sater said.

Michel Moawad, the son of the slain president, said that unfortunately Lebanon is commemorating his father’s death in the absence of a head of state.

“President Moawad brought us together today, 26 years following his assassination because his vision of a united and strong Lebanon still unite us,” Michel said.

“President Moawad refused to succumb to threats and sacrificed his life defending Lebanon,” he added.

The Independence Movement leader recalled President Moawad’s vision of a strong Lebanese state: “A state that wields its authority across Lebanese territory; a state that maintains monopoly over arms’ possession; a state that fights corruption; a state that upholds the constitution.”

Following the mass, President Moawad’s wife, former Social Affairs Minister Nayla Moawad, her son Michel and the families of those who were killed in the bombing that targeted president Moawad’s convoy 26 years ago, received condolences.