Miqati Slams as 'Coup' Aoun's Proposal on Presidential Impasse
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Former Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Monday lashed out at Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun's suggestion to end the presidential impasse, considering it a “coup.”
"The proposal put forward by General Michel Aoun to amend the constitution to elect a president by the people and to allow each sect to vote for its own MPs at parliament is a real coup,” Miqati said in a released statement.
He explained that the coup is not only against the Lebanese Constitution and the Taef Accord, but also against “the political path General Aoun has taken since returning to Lebanon and participating in all councils of ministers and parliamentary elections.”
"We call on General Aoun and all politicians who are keen on the country('s interests) to meet. Enough with disputes, divisions and fragmentation.”
Earlier in the day, Aoun held a press conference in which he said there should be a “limited constitutional amendment,” that allows the Lebanese citizens to elect the head of state in two rounds to avoid the same scenarios that parliamentary sessions are witnessing.
The Change and Reform bloc head said that his proposal lies in allowing only Christians to vote for their candidates in the first round.
The system than allows the polls to be held at the level of the entire nation to pave way for both Muslims and Christians to choose the two candidates who received the majority of votes in the first round.
Parliament has failed in several rounds to elect a successor to President Michel Suleiman, whose six-year term expired on May 25 after the March 8 and 14 alliances failed to agree on a compromise candidate.
The majority of the March 8 camp's MPs, including the lawmakers of Aoun's Change and Reform bloc, have boycotted the sessions, leading to a lack of the needed two-thirds quorum.
S.D.B.
M.T.
30 June 2014, 16:50
00
Empowering people to properly elect their president by universal vote is not a coup against Lebanon. It's a coup against a corrupt political class that is so hungry for control.
30 June 2014, 18:37
00
too late now Lebanon will be split between the Islamic republic of Iran and ISIS,
30 June 2014, 21:00
25
If partition does occur Aoun won't even be elected MP let alone president of Metn and Jbeil
30 June 2014, 23:53
00
I didn't see any guns of fighters on the streets launching a "coup," unless Aoun has converted to Sanniism a-la-filthy Sanni lunatics without anyone noticing.
01 July 2014, 00:43
10
Lebanese constitution is for an equal participation of christians and muslims in the political life. The political positions have therefore been distributed to achieve as much as possible this equal participation. However our constitution does not say that a christian political responsibility represents christian interests and votes and similarly for muslims. What Aoun is trying to do is pure partition and a coup against the living together in lebanon. He may think he is safe guarding christians interests but he is only reducing their role in the country.
01 July 2014, 02:41
10
Today Aoun is a peaceful and harmless megalomaniac. Let him express himself.
At least he says what is on his mind and that has been clear since 1988. He wants to become president.
He ignited 2 wars, fled to France, allied himself with his former enemies, left his natural allies and is now proposing to tear the Lebanese constitution that was updated in Taef after 200,000 dead, 17,000 disappeared and a country destroyed.
However, calling this a coup is not fair. The behaviour of Hezbollah is a coup, but would ex-PM Najib Mikati say it?
