About 7 weeks before the end of his term, Lebanese President Michel Aoun escalated his stances towards caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in the context of continuing political wrangling between the two parties that have been locked in a conflict since the early elections ended last May.
In the latest developments in Lebanon, which is preparing to elect a new president of the republic, Aoun said in statements to the “Lebanese Republic” newspaper, seen by “Al-Hol.net,” that if the election of the president and the formation of the new government falter, “the current government is not qualified to take over my powers after the end of my term.” .
The Lebanese president added: “I consider that it does not have the national legitimacy to replace the president of the republic, and therefore unless a president is elected or a government is formed before October 31, and if they insist on putting me in a corner, there is a question mark surrounding my next step and the decision I will take then.” “.
Aoun expresses his skepticism about the reasons for not forming an original government until now, saying: “I have a feeling that the obstruction is deliberate, in order for President Mikati and those with him and his successor to put their hands on the country through a caretaker government that does not meet the conditions to replace the President of the Republic, and if such a repulsive situation arises I will not bow to him and will confront him.”
Aoun warned that “they are tampering with the delicate balances that characterize this country, as if what they did during the covenant is not enough for them to want to follow me to my home and complete the war against me, but I will not allow the fait accompli to be imposed on me, whether I am in Baabda or in Rabieh.”
Aoun renews his call to form a government
The Lebanese president affirmed that he is ready to cooperate in order to form the government, considering that he has the greatest interest in its birth, “because I want to be reassured that the void, if it occurs, will be filled in the appropriate way, but I also do not accept any government, because it may be facing huge challenges and responsibilities, You have to have the capacity and coverage to tackle it.”
According to Article 62 of the Lebanese Constitution, “when the presidency becomes vacant, the powers of the presidency are entrusted to the Council of Ministers.”
However, the constitution did not address the problem of the resigned government in a presidential vacuum, which raises the ceiling of political debate and conflicting jurisprudence in explaining the constitution, especially since Aoun’s opponents and legal experts consider that the resigned government can play the role of the non-resigning government in a vacuum and take over the powers of the presidency, on the basis that it is not possible to enter a vacuum. Absolute in power.
In this context, Aoun stresses the “importance of including 6 political ministers of state in the current government in order to gain political immunity, which is very necessary to confront the possibility of vacancy, because the pure technocratic government, as it is now, is unable to assume the tasks of the President of the Republic.”
He also pointed out that “the government of technocrats was not as productive as we had hoped, and its ministers are not prepared to play the political role that may be imposed on them as heirs to the powers of the Presidency of the Republic,” noting: “Therefore, I proposed appointing 6 state ministers who represent the sects and basic forces and achieve national balance in decision-making, Where is the problem with this proposition, especially since the government must also reflect the results of the recent parliamentary elections, given that the formation of a government in which there are political ministers is considered a familiar matter in Lebanese political life.
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Lebanon between Aoun and Mikati’s agreement and disagreement
Aoun also confirms, “Mikati had agreed to the formula that stipulates the appointment of six new ministers of state, in addition to changing the names of the ministers of economy and the displaced in the current composition, taking into account that the Sunni alternative is from the Akkar region and that the Druze alternative does not provoke Walid Jumblatt, and I agreed. on this standard.
But he added: “While I was resting in the residence suite inside the palace, one night a mutual friend arrived in haste, conveying Mikati’s decision to accept the expanded version. His approval after communicating with President Nabih Berri, who returned and declared his rejection of the six ministers of the state in a speech commemorating the disappearance of Imam al-Sadr.
Regarding the specifications of the next president, Aoun said, “It is important that he be familiar with the constitution and laws and adhere to their application, even if this is annoying to his partners in power,” while referring to the names of the politicians circulating for the presidency, saying that “Gibran Bassil is not a candidate, and the others do not meet the necessary conditions to take over.” position.”
As for the option of floating the current government as it is, Aoun answers: “I go back and repeat that I fear that it will not be able to face the next stage with all its entitlements, and the float attached to vaccination is the best,” adding that “what made me laugh the most in the recent period is that some of the poor have concluded that I want Through my proposal to expand the government, I get the blocking third.”
He pointed out that this “reflects their ignorance that the government that exercises the powers of the president does not need such a third in the first place, because each minister is in itself a disabled third, as happened in the government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam, in addition to the fact that the ministers of state will be distributed among the main sects and forces and will not I have more representation than others.”
Lebanon and the last chance
In conclusion, the Lebanese president saw that “the opportunity to form a new government is still available, and I call on President Mikati to capture it and deal with it seriously, not to come to visit me for a few minutes and then carry his case and go.”
On the other hand, so far, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has not invited deputies to a session to elect a president. And in the event that the invitation is not sent, Parliament meets by default and obligatory 10 days before the end of Aoun’s term, which sessions may not lead to the election of a president, which will enter the country in a vacuum.
Constitutionally, the election of the President of the Republic shall be by a two-thirds majority vote of the total number of members of Parliament consisting of 128 members, or 86 deputies, and in the second session by an absolute majority, that is, 65 deputies.
It is noteworthy that Lebanon has been facing continuous challenges since the last elections last May, as a result of the failure to form a new government so far, in addition to the lack of agreement on a new president of the republic, with the end of President Michel Aoun’s term approaching, and the need to elect a replacement before the end of the constitutional deadlines. .
The country is separated by only a few days from the start of the constitutional deadline for the election of a new President of the Republic; Because the term of the current president expires at the end of next October, at which point the country will enter a vacuum in the presidency unless a new president is chosen for Lebanon.
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Lebanon and the challenges of the presidency
The challenge of choosing a new president for the country is accompanied by the challenge of forming a new government, to succeed the caretaker government, headed by Najib Mikati, who was charged with forming a new government at the end of last June, but he has not yet succeeded in forming it, as a result of political conflicts in the form of the cabinet.
The fierceness of the differences lies over the formation of a new government between the designate Mikati and the head of the “Free Patriotic Movement” Gibran Bassil, who demands the expansion of the cabinet to include 30 ministers instead of 24 ministers, at a time when Mikati rejects that expansion.
With the crisis of the next government, the crisis of the current presidency of the Republic is no less severe. Due to the lack of agreement on a consensual candidate for the presidency, especially with the multiplicity of names put forward, the latest of which was the nomination of the former Lebanese ambassador to Jordan, Tracy Chamoun, granddaughter of former Lebanese President Camille Chamoun, for the presidential race.
The three presidencies in Lebanon are distributed on a sectarian basis, with the Presidency of the Republic being granted to Maronites from among Christians, the Presidency of the Parliament to the Shiites, and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers to the Sunnis.
In October 2016, current President Michel Aoun was elected President of the Republic after two and a half years of vacancy in the position, with the support of Hezbollah, the powerful political and military force in the country, within the framework of a political settlement between the most prominent leaders of the sects.
The situation in Lebanon, which has been plunged into an unprecedented economic collapse three years ago, would deteriorate further in the event of a vacancy in the presidency of the Republic again, as this would further paralyze the already exhausted official institutions.
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