Mandatory parliamentary consultations began on Monday, July 26 at 10:30 a.m. at the Baabda Presidential Palace with the arrival of the favorite, Najib Mikati, who was followed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. They should end at 5 o’clock this afternoon.
At the end of these, the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun should receive the President of the Chamber of Deputies Nabih Berri and then summon the person who has retained the most votes in his favor to become the next designated prime minister. .
Big favorite, Najib Mikati should be appointed to lead a 3rd government, however without the support of the Christian parties, the Free Patriotic Current having announced support for Nawaf Salam and the Lebanese Forces indicating that they do not want to vote in favor of anyone.
Yesterday, Najib Mikati received the support of his 3 former predecessors Tamam Salam, Fouad Saniora or Saad Hariri who failed to form a government on July 9, 2021 after being appointed on October 22, 2020.
A country without a government as the economic crisis hits it hard
Lebanon has been without government since the resignation, on August 10, of outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab.
The formation of a new government is considered as one of the preconditions for the relaunch of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund in order to obtain the release of financial aid from the international community in the face of the economic crisis that Lebanon is going through.
Following Mustafa Adib’s failure to form a cabinet, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who resigned following major protests in October 2019, was tasked with forming a new government in October 2020.
In an attempt to unblock the situation, the former prime minister promised the Amal movement to allocate the portfolio of the finance ministry to a member of the Shiite community. He also reiterated that Lebanon could do without a state of default, thus denying the gravity of the economic crisis however experienced by the population, with 55% of it now living below the poverty line while the economic recession has reached 29% according to some reports for the year 2020.
However, Saad Hariri’s proposals for an 18-member cabinet clash with the Presidency of the Republic, who points out that if the Shiite and Sunni communities choose their representatives, the Christian representatives in the new cabinet would also be chosen by the former. designated minister. General Aoun de facto considers that the current proposals of the Prime Minister contravene both the Lebanese constitution and the national pact.
The latter, for his part, accuses the head of state of wanting to obtain a blocking third party within his new cabinet.
