Parliament decides caretaker government can run Lebanon
The Lebanese parliament has decided that the caretaker government headed by Najib Mikati can be handed the powers of the presidency amid the leadership vacuum, according to constitutional principles.
Former President Michel Aoun sent a letter to parliament on Sunday, 24 hours before the end of his term, asking MPs to withdraw confidence in Mikati’s government. He argued that it has no legitimacy and should not assume the duties of the presidency.
Parliament held a session to discuss the letter on Thursday. Some MPs believed that the correspondence was pointless given that the Lebanese constitution gives the government, even a caretaker one, the right to run the country in the light of a presidential vacuum. They stressed that the priority is to elect a president, not discuss governments.
Other MPs, including Aoun’s bloc, the Free Patriotic Movement, said that the letter would transfer the dispute between Aoun and Mikati to parliament.
Many representatives warned against such conflict provoking sectarian strife between the Maronite and Sunni sects.
After Aoun’s letter was read, reformist MPs, the Kataeb Party,
and MP Michel Mouawad walked out of the assembly hall on the grounds that “according to Article 75, parliament is now an electoral body only and not entitled to perform any other function.”
Mikati said during the session that if his government fails to carry out its responsibilities, including in caretaker mode, it would be subject to constitutional accountability for violating its duties as explicitly stipulated in Article 70.
Sami Gemayel, head of the Kataeb Party, said: “Aoun’s letter aims to create tension and stir up sectarian conflicts among the Lebanese.
MP Bilal Al-Hashimi said: “We do not want to discuss issues that are now in the past. We need to elect a president because the people can no longer bear the miserable economic and social situation.”
MP Ghassan Hasbani, of the Lebanese Forces, said that the priority is to elect a president without being distracted by side issues.
Mikati said in his speech at the Arab Summit : “The beacon of light has gone out; the port that was considered the gateway to the East has suffered an explosion; and the lights of the airport, which should be a connection platform, are out due to lack of fuel.
“The Lebanese are facing the worst economic crisis in the history of Lebanon. We pin hopes on our Arab brothers to help our country, so do not leave us alone.”