Beirut, Dec. 4, 2022 (Xinhua) Nine ministers of Lebanon’s 24-minister interim government declined today (Sunday) to attend a government session called by Prime Minister Najib Mikati for tomorrow (Monday).
This was stated in a joint statement by Foreign Ministers Abdullah Bou Habib, Justice Henry Khoury, Defense Minister Maurice Selim, Economy Minister Amin Salam, Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar, Energy Minister Walid Fayyad, by Tourism Minister Walid Nassar, Industry Minister George Boushkian, and displaced Issam Sharafeddine.
“The outgoing prime minister surprised us by calling for a cabinet session with a free agenda… while our government is a caretaker government in the strict sense of the word and has not met since he was deemed to have resigned last May.” , reads the press release. .
The nine ministers, most of whom are supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by former President Michel Aoun, justified their decision by stating that Article 64 of the constitution is clear in terms of the government’s inadmissibility to exercise its powers when he is resigned, except in the strict sense of caretaker activity.
They stated their disagreement and non-acceptance of the session of the Council of Ministers from a constitutional and statutory point of view, as well as their lack of agreement or acceptance of any of its decisions.
The ministers’ statement stated that the constitution does not allow the provisional government to assume the powers of the President of the Republic, and lacks constitutional powers and parliamentary confidence, as it has not won the confidence of the current parliament.
They noted that Article 62 of the Constitution is clear in that the Council of Ministers as a whole exercises the powers of the President of the Republic in the event of a vacancy, and therefore these powers cannot be exercised by the President of the Council of Ministers alone or in the absence of ministers.
They stressed that the constitution does not allow for a caretaker government to assume the powers of the President of the Republic, and lacks constitutional powers and parliamentary trust, as it has not won the trust of the current parliament.
They invited Mikati to renounce the convening of a cabinet meeting to exercise the powers of the President of the Republic, underlining the reluctance to make the situation in the country more difficult and complicated while everyone can avert the dangers by resorting to the constitution and by understanding and unity national.
They explained that the prime minister and ministers are able to find solutions to any issue in collaboration with Parliament, according to its powers.
Mikati had called a cabinet meeting and justified it because there was an urgent file that required a decision and was related to the health of the citizen, especially dialysis and cancer patients.
The differences between the country’s political forces have prevented the formation of a new government led by Mikati, after the parliament had assigned it to him last June, following the resignation of his government shortly after the parliamentary elections last May.
The disagreements between the political forces also prevented the election of a new president to succeed former president Michel Aoun, whose mandate expired on October 31, despite the fact that parliament held 8 sessions between the end of last September and the first of this December.
Lebanon had seen a presidential vacancy in previous times, but it is the first time it has seen a presidential vacancy under an interim government, noting that the constitution stipulates that in the event of a presidential vacancy, the cabinet collectively assumes the powers of the President.
Since 2019, Lebanon has been suffering from ongoing tensions amid political, economic, financial, health and housing crises, the worst in its history, leading to an increase in the poverty rate to 82% with the collapse of the local currency, exacerbation of unemployment and inflation amid unprecedented price increases and banks imposing severe restrictions on depositors withdrawing their money.
