Supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement during a protest in Beirut, July 9

BEIRUT  — Hundreds of supporters of a Lebanese Christian politician protested in Beirut on Thursday against the prime minister they say is marginalising Christian influence, stirring tensions in a country already in crisis over war in neighbouring Syria.

Michel Aoun accuses Prime Minister Tammam Salam of taking decisions without cross-party consensus and usurping powers reserved for the president – a post set aside for a Christian but vacant since last year due to the wider political turmoil.

Aoun’s critics, including other Christian leaders, say his motivation is personal. A presidential hopeful, he wants his son-in-law, Brigadier-General Shamel Roukoz, appointed as army chief when the job needs filling in September.

“We are more than Shi’a and we are more than Sunnis and we want our rights,” Aoun said in televised remarks, in which he vowed not to back down.

Statistics on the proportion of the population of each sect are sensitive in Lebanon where balance and consensus have kept the country relatively stable since the 1975-1990 civil war. Under the system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni and the parliament speaker a Shi’a.

The U.S. State Department website cites statistics from a Lebanese research firm that estimate around 40 percent of Lebanese are Christians of various denominations, 27 percent are Sunni Muslims and 27 percent Shi’a.

Aoun, 80, is an ally of Hezbollah, which backs his political position, but is not taking part in the rally.

Supporters of Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement waved orange flags and made their way towards the government headquarters in central Beirut, where Salam was holding a cabinet meeting.

“They are taking everything from us,” said student Charbel Khoury, 21. “As Christians we should act, we should not stay at home. We are only a small number in the region.”

Lebanon has been without a president since May of 2014. The cabinet, headed by the prime minister, performs the constitutional duties of the president in his absence.