Gemayel Calls for Swift Formation of Cabinet, Holding Presidential Elections on Time
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel called on Monday from Bkirki on the rival parties to hold the Presidential elections on time and for the swift formation of a new cabinet.
“The situation in the country is very dangerous and it can't go on. It's as if the leaders are incapable of confronting the impending challenges,” Gemayel told reporters after talks with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.
He urged officials to form the cabinet swiftly without any delay.
“It's time, despite the conditions and the counter-conditions, we should form a cabinet and agree on the common points that gather us,” Gemayel said.
Endeavors are ongoing to end the cabinet deadlock as Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam continuously said that conditions and counter-conditions set by the rival sides have brought his efforts to form a cabinet to a stalemate.
Since his appointment to form a cabinet in April, Salam has been seeking the formation of a 24-member cabinet in which the March 8, March 14 and centrists camps would each get eight ministers.
“We have called on Salam to overcome complications such as the distribution of portfolios based as a cabinet can't carry out its tasks without consensus,” the Christian leader said.
“The situation in neighboring countries is developing but Lebanon remains at an impasse, which is unacceptable,” Gemayel said.
Asked if he agrees that Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun run for the upcoming presidential elections, Gemayel wished them luck.
President Michel Suleiman's six-year term ends in May 2014.
Under article 49 of the Lebanese Constitution, the president is elected by secret ballot and by a two thirds majority of the 128-seat parliament.
02 December 2013, 17:43
04
@ nuetral
You are 100% right. We should elect to presidency, which is the core of Christian status, the people who refused to bring better representation of the Christians in Lebanon. The logic of electing Samir Geagea or Gemayel to anything, mind you presidency, is like giving up the Christian shrine to AlQaida. When Geagea and Gemayle refused the Arthodox agreement which would lead to higher presentation, just presentation, of Christian in Lebanon kind remind me of electing Saudi Arabia to carry on with the Arab cause. Oh, wait a minute, for M14, the Saudi Arabia is the true protector of the Arabic cause. Regardless of what AFP published yesterday on the joint operation of Israeli-Saudi war room in Jordan, M14 still believe in joke that wasted the Arab resources for 400 years.
02 December 2013, 12:18
61
@Flamethrower, i agree with you about the first part of your comment. but i would like to comment about the second part of your comment; i would hope Amin learned from his mistakes and i believe he has. i think we constitution should only be re-written if and when Hizbullah put their arms under the umbrella of the law otherwise re-writing the constitution is useless.
02 December 2013, 12:57
41
Sectarianism is rooted in people's thinking, not in the constitution. It is foolish to think that if a forced sharing of power along sectarian lines was eliminated, citizens would immediately vote for "the best man for the job." The reality is that most (especially the segment of the population that is conditioned to follow orders without question) would vote for someone from their own sect, regardless of his qualifications. The result would be the dominance of one sect over the others, leading to oppression. It will take at least an entire generation to change the sectarian mentality. A good start would be for some to stop staking an exclusive claim to resistance.
02 December 2013, 21:39
00
FT, unification as a result of a people freely coming together for a common goal, is one thing. However, "unification" through brainwashing, threats, intolerance for alternate viewpoints, reproduction for the sake of numbers, etc., is quite another. HB is the current culprit, but LF engaged in some of the same tactics during wartime. Also, pertaining to expatriates, those who are currently most numerous have already worked against it because it's not in their own best interest. Finally, with regard to Ziad Baroud, you and I both know that he wouldn't stand a chance in a non-sectarian system unless he stopped shaving his beard and wearing neckties.
