Paralysis Further Grips State as Christian Blocs Refuse to Legislate
The fate of a controversial parliamentary session that Speaker Nabih Berri insists on calling for is facing further obstacles as Christian lawmakers are holding onto their decision to boycott it.
Berri warned in comments published in local newspapers that boycotting the session would lead to chaos in the country, accusing “those who are obstructing legislation on the pretext of presidential vacuum are also boycotting the elections sessions.”
MPs failed on several occasions to elect a new head of state over lack of quorum. President Michel Suleiman's term ended in May without the election of a successor.
Hizbullah and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc have been boycotting electoral sessions due to a disagreement with the March 14 camp over a compromise presidential candidate.
Berri called on them to head to the parliament and elect a new head of state to end the “vortex.”
The speaker also lashed out at “those who are touring foreign countries, religious figures and others, and crying over the presidential vacuum,” in hints to Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.
“It would be better if those people seek consensus among the rivals of the sect to facilitate the election of a president.”
Berri stressed that the “parliament and the cabinet are not responsible for the presidential vacuum... they cause diseases and we're seeking the remedy... this is the truth.”
The speaker reiterated that he will not carry out further contacts with the political arch-foes to convince them to attend the “urgent session.”
The speaker has been recently angered with the Christian parliamentary blocs' decision to boycott a session that he intends to call for to approve urgent issues, including the wage scale for the public sector and the food safety draft-law.
The Lebanese Forces and its old-time rival the FPM will boycott the session over the agenda. The LF is calling for the adoption of a new electoral law, while the FPM wants the amendment of the defense law.
On the other hand, the Kataeb party rejects to attend the session as the “parliament should be only considered as an electoral body and not a legislature” in the absence of a president.
For his part, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat threw his weight behind Berri, stressing that the presidential vacuum is caused by Christians as some leaders “don't realize the importance of reaching a consensual candidate.”
“We were only facing a presidential crisis and now it's a legislating crisis... the whole country is threatened with paralysis,” the PSP chief said.
Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan, who is loyal to Aoun, said that the party insists on boycotting the session as it lacks “urgent draft-laws.”
“Accusations that we are paralyzing the parliament are false.”
Kanaan said that the FPM “was the first to agree on the urgent legislation term since the presidential vacuum hit the state... Speaker Berri previously knows our stance and we didn't back down.”
“The presidential crisis is not between Christians... we are working on resolving all crises,” the MP added.
H.K.
G.K.
almost 9 years
Presidential crisis is this the problem? or the various cultural differences in this country created and resulted in this problem?
almost 9 years
No Aoun, no president, no legislation. Ansarullah will not accept anyone except Aoun.
almost 9 years
Ansarullah is right! Aoun for president of Yemen.
almost 9 years
keeping smoking that pipe
almost 9 years
keeping smoking that pipe
almost 9 years
26 minutes ago Mount Lebanon police detained in Burj Barajneh Aa.M. and M.Q. on charges of dealing with drugs and seized in their possession a quantity of Hashish and drug pills.
almost 9 years
FT = the most informative poster this site has ever seen by a country mile
No wonder his posts are removed within minutes of them being posted.
almost 9 years
I respect mr. megahbib, mr. ado.australia and mr. lebanon_._.07 equally
almost 9 years
Its easy to see that government is not a priority in Lebanon for the Lebanese. They have not had one during much of the history of the modern republic and therefore would not know what to do with a government if they had one.
Lebanon is run by her private sector, not by her "government" which is just another gang that takes your money and gives redistributes it to various followers and hangers on.
Despite this attitude in Lebanon, that we do not need government, sooner or later they will and will again bemoan the fact that they did not hold political leaders accountable for their outrageous conduct.
almost 9 years
Christian blocs should repel clause 24 and give the Shiites majority their democratic rights given to the Christians in Taef.
almost 9 years
barre one, the previous one.
almost 9 years
Mr. Berri is whipping the wrong horse, his job is to whip his bed-mate Hezbollah to desist from obstructing the normal procedure of electing a new president. Chaos will only serve Sayed Hassan Nasrallah's interests. To continue supporting a greedy lunatic like Aoun is only aiming to turn Lebanon into an even more chaotic and insane country. Try as Sayed Hassan may, he or his stooge Aoun will never see that presidency, someone very similar to Michel Sleymen will be voted in. We will be late but we will remain on course, the era of stooges occupying that seat is now long gone, and Hezbollah should now pack up and throw into their garbage, all those pre-prepared rubber stamps they had for Aoun the claoun to start using and legislate their illegal aims. The show is over, worst has come to pass, things can only improve as of now. When you hit an impasse, the next thing to do is a U turn, period.
Je suis Flamethrower, Je suis un Huthi, Je suis un terroriste