Lebanon’s top Christian cleric slams failed attempt to elect a president

Lebanon's top Maronite cleric said on Sunday that parliament's failed attempt to elect a president on Wednesday was a "cold-blooded violation of the constitution".

The Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai called the session a "farce" and urged every official to "admit their mistakes and correct them" after nearly eight months of presidential vacuum in Lebanon.

Four years since Lebanon went into a financial meltdown that marks its worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war, parliament failed for a 12th time to elect someone to fill the post, which is reserved for a Maronite Christian under the country's sectarian system.