ANSD : Solution to govt formation will come eventually: Hariri

SUN 24 - 11 - 2024

Date: Nov 26, 2018
Source: The Daily Star

Solution to govt formation will come eventually: Hariri

BEIRUT: Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri Sunday expressed optimism that a government will be formed one way or another, as the Cabinet formation deadlock entered its seventh month.

"I won’t talk much about the disruption in the government formation process," Hariri said in a televised news conference at his Downtown residence. "We should reach a solution, and eventually we are going to find a solution. We should all know that the Lebanese Constitution is what brings us together and we should focus on what brings us together. This is what I have been doing."

Hariri’s efforts to form a government, since being designated as prime minister in May, have been met with a series of obstacles.

The last remaining hurdle concerns a group of six Hezbollah-backed Sunni MPs demanding Cabinet representation. Hariri has refused to cede a Cabinet seat to them and has implied that it’s up to Hezbollah to resolve the issue.

Hezbollah official blames Hariri for govt delay

BEIRUT: A member of Hezbollah's central council said in comments published Sunday that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s disregard for the results of the May parliamentary elections was to blame for the ensuing government formation delay.

“The governmental crisis in Lebanon was exacerbated and is becoming more complicated because of the designated premier’s denial of the results of the parliamentary elections,” Sheikh Nabil Qaouk said at a memorial ceremony in southern Lebanon, according to the state-run National News Agency.

The government formation process has entered its seventh month of deadlock, with the last remaining obstacle concerning a group of six Hezbollah-backed Sunni lawmakers insisting on being represented in the new Cabinet.

Their demand, however, has been rejected by Hariri on the basis that the MPs do not form a unified parliamentary bloc. The six Sunni MPs from outside Hariri's Future Movement have been referring to themselves as “independent,” despite the fact that the majority of them belong to different parliamentary blocs.

“It is the right of the independent Sunni MPs to have ministerial representation, especially since they represent a good section of the Lebanese people,” Qaouk said.

Qaouk said that Hezbollah’s support for the MPs’ demands was the right thing to do for the nation. “If Hariri continues to deny the results of the parliamentary elections and their right to be part of the Cabinet, this means that the crisis is ongoing,” Qaouk added. “We are keen on a solution, but the solution and the complication begins and ends with the designated premier.”

Delays in govt formation unacceptable: Rai

BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai Sunday denounced what he described as the unjustified delay in government formation, local media reported.

Rai made his comments upon arriving at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport after a visit to Rome.

“It’s not acceptable for anyone, no matter the reason, to obstruct government formation,” Rai said as the country entered its seventh month of Cabinet formation deadlock. “What is the reason preventing the formation?” he asked.

“[Other countries] are astonished by the absence of a new government,” he added. “Procrastination is no longer acceptable.”

The last remaining obstacle that has hindered government formation is related to a group of six Hezbollah-backed Sunni lawmakers insisting on being represented in the new Cabinet.

Their demand, however, has been rejected by Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri on the basis that the MPs do not form a unified parliamentary bloc. The six Sunni MPs from outside Hariri's Future Movement have been referring to themselves as “independent,” despite the fact that the majority of them belong to different parliamentary blocs.

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