Kataeb: Complete Internal Stability Can't Be Achieved without a President

The Kataeb Party renewed on Tuesday its demand for the election of a new president, saying that a new head of state will restore normalcy to state institutions.

It said in a statement after its weekly politburo meeting: “Complete internal stability cannot be achieved without a president, who safeguards the national pact and constitution.”

It also praised the efforts of Prime Minister Tammam Salam that are aimed at “preserving consensus” among the political factions in light of the dispute over the cabinet mechanism given the presidential vacuum.

The party stressed the need for “taking decisions at cabinet through consensus among all ministers in a productive and positive spirit.”

It therefore called for the government to convene “in order to maintain higher national interests and the vital interests of the people.”

On the army's ongoing efforts to thwart the infiltration of armed groups to Lebanon through its eastern border with Syria, the party hailed the military's preemptive operation.

“The measure helps it expand its area of operation, crippling the capabilities of the gunmen and forcing them further back into Syrian territory,” it noted.

Lebanon has been without a president since May when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor.

The vacuum has created a debate on whether to change the mechanism at cabinet.

The differences between the ministers on the amendment of the mechanism prompted Salam to suspend sessions in the past two weeks giving way for the cabinet members to reach an agreement on the formula, which he wants it to be based on Article 65 of the Constitution.

The current mechanism, which was adopted after the cabinet assumed the prerogative of the president in accordance with the constitution, states that ministers should give unanimous support to the government's decisions.

But it proved to be troublesome after some ministers resorted to veto power.

Earlier on Tuesday, Salam called on cabinet to convene on Thursday.

M.T.

Y.R.