Mikati calls for end to 'fabricated problem' over cabinet sessions
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati accused again those opposing cabinet meetings of "seeking to spread vacuum."
In a statement Tuesday, Mikati said, in an apparent reference to the Free Patriotic Movement, that those who are claiming to preserve the president's powers have themselves practiced obstruction for years.
"Elect a president as soon as possible, have mercy on the Lebanese and stop fabricating useless arguments and problems," the prime minister said, adding that cabinet is not the responsible for the presidential vacuum.
"Stop the negativity, the obstruction, and the sectarian incitement," Mikati said.
Mired in a crippling economic crisis since 2019, Lebanon has been governed by a caretaker cabinet for more than a year and without a president for more than eight months.
No group has a clear majority in parliament and lawmakers have failed 12 times to elect a new president, amid bitter divisions.
The FPM ministers have been boycotting the caretaker cabinet sessions, claiming that cabinet can not convene without a president.
Mikati has recently informed the ministers about his will to call for a session to discuss the 2023 budget, media reports said.
Source: Naharnet
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