Suleiman Insists on Formation of Cabinet ahead of Presidential Elections Despite Lingering Disputes
President Michel Suleiman is holding on to his stance and rejects any attempts to extend his tenure, which ends in May 2014, as media reports said on Tuesday that the cabinet will be formed by January 30, 2014.
Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday that Suleiman insists on heading back to his hometown of Amchit on May 26,2014.
“Suleiman is carrying out political consultations with political foes as he considers that the country needs the presence of a cabinet before the beginning of the new year,” al-Joumhouria newspaper reported.
Suleiman said in an interview with the Central News Agency that he is “exerting all possible efforts in order to push for the formation of a new government,” saying that he “will exercise my privileges to that end until the last day of my term.”
The President's six-year tenure ends in May 2014, but the constitutional period to elect a new head of state begins on March 25, two months prior to the expiration of the president's mandate.
Al-Joumhouria reported that Suleiman isn't holding on to a specific cabinet formula but a lineup that represents all the Lebanese.
“The president is seeking the formation of a government that directly or indirectly represents the arch-foes,” the daily added.
An Nahar newspaper reported that Suleiman and Prime Minister designate Tammam Salam are exerting efforts to form a new cabinet between January 15, 2014, during second donor's conference to raise aid for Syrian refugees that will be held in Kuwait, and January 30, 2014.
Salam was appointed in April but has so far been unable to put together a government over the conditions and counter conditions set by the rivals parties as fears mount that the differences between the March 8 and 14 camps would lead to a vacuum the presidential post.
Speaker Nabih Berri's adviser caretaker Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil said in comments published in al-Joumhouria newspaper that the March 8 alliance is also holding on to its stance.
“The country needs a all-embracing cabinet that is capable of acting responsibly and all the powers are represented in it,” Khalil said.
He pointed out that the government should be able to face the challenges and not a cabinet that incites division in the country.
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat had proposed the formation of a new cabinet in which the March 8 and 14 alliances would get nine ministers each and six ministers would be given to the centrists – Suleiman, Salam and Jumblat.
This formula, which the March 8 alliance agreed on, prevents a certain party from controlling the government by giving veto power to Hizbullah and its team and another veto power to March 14, he said.
However, the March 14 coalition rejects this formula and Salam's 8-8-8 formula, arguing that Hizbullah shouldn't participate in any cabinet for being a key player in battles in war-torn Syria.
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