Beirut, December 4, 2022 (Xinhua) Nine ministers from the Lebanese caretaker government, consisting of 24 ministers, refused today (Sunday) to participate in a cabinet session called by Prime Minister Najib Mikati to convene tomorrow (Monday).
This came 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, Minister of Tourism Walid Nassar, Minister of Industry George Boushkian, and the displaced Issam Sharafeddine.
“The resigned prime minister surprised us by calling for a cabinet session with a loose agenda… while our government is a caretaker government in the narrow sense of the word and has not met since it was considered resigned last May,” the statement said.
The nine ministers justified their decision, most of whom are supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement, which was founded by former President Michel Aoun, by saying that Article 64 of the constitution is clear in terms of the government’s inadmissibility to exercise its powers when it is resigned, except in the narrow sense of caretaker business.
They affirmed their disagreement and non-acceptance of the Council of Ministers session from a constitutional and charter standpoint, 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 caretaker government to assume the powers of the President of the Republic, and it lacks constitutional powers and parliamentary confidence, as it did not win the confidence of the current parliament.
They pointed out that Article 62 of the constitution is clear in terms of 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 Prime Minister alone or in the absence of ministers.
They emphasized that the constitution does not allow a caretaker government to assume the powers of the President of the Republic, and it lacks constitutional powers and parliamentary confidence, as it did not win the confidence of the current parliament.
They called on Mikati to back down from calling for a cabinet session to exercise the powers of the President of the Republic, stressing the unwillingness to make the situation in the country more difficult and complicated while everyone can stave off dangers by resorting to the constitution and by understanding and national unity.
They explained that the prime minister and ministers are able to find solutions to any matter in cooperation with Parliament, according to its powers.
Mikati had called for a cabinet session and justified that because there was an urgent file that required a decision and was related to the citizen’s health, especially patients with dialysis and cancer.
The differences between the political forces in the country prevented the formation of a new government headed by Mikati, following the parliament assigned him to do so last June, following the resignation of his government shortly following the parliamentary elections last May.
The disagreements of the political forces also prevented the election of a new president to succeed former President Michel Aoun, whose term ended on October 31, despite the parliament holding 8 sessions for this purpose between the end of last September and the first of this December.
Lebanon had witnessed a presidential vacancy in previous times, but it is the first time that it has witnessed a presidential vacancy under a caretaker 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 constant tensions amid political, economic, financial, health and living crises, which are the worst in its history, which led to a rise in the poverty rate to 82% with the collapse of the local currency, exacerbation of unemployment and inflation amid an unprecedented rise in prices, and banks imposing strict restrictions on depositors withdrawing their money. /ts/
