Kataeb MP Salim Sayegh called for urgent action to elect a president, warning that the country’s continued dependence on external solutions amid ongoing regional conflicts risks its future.

Speaking after a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi in Bkerke, Sayegh marked Lebanon's Independence Day and the anniversary of the assassination of Minister Pierre Gemayel with a stark message about the nation’s political paralysis.  

“Lebanon awaits an elusive agreement between Beirut and Tel Aviv brokered by U.S. mediators, while its people suffer from the far south to the far north, bearing the consequences of a war with an uncertain end,” Sayegh said. “There is a solution within our reach to save Lebanon, and it starts with electing a president. This is the only viable political horizon for our country.”  

Sayegh emphasized the urgent need for a leader who could speak on behalf of Lebanon, criticizing current officials for failing to safeguard the nation’s present and future.  

“The president is the one who reassures the people and unites them around the State institutions, especially the army. If we continue waiting for regional solutions—ranging from Gaza to Tehran—we may wait indefinitely, and Lebanon, along with its people, will cease to exist,” he said.  

Sayegh urged a withdrawal from what he described as the “grand geopolitical game” imposed on Lebanon and called for a focus on domestic solidarity.

“We can protect Lebanon through our internal unity, which is currently absent,  through our legitimate institutions which are currently faltering, and through a strong State. Today, we are a failed State,” he said.