Suleiman Calls for Constitutional Change to Make Appointments by Majority Vote

President Michel Suleiman called on Wednesday for the amendment of the constitution, saying the appointment of top civil servants should be through the majority vote of cabinet ministers rather than the two thirds.

In remarks to As Safir newspaper, Suleiman said: “I have said on many occasions that the cabinet has a limited productivity and this is obvious in the administrative appointments.”

“We had come up with a mechanism to make the appointments but no one committed to it because of narrow political differences and the constitution which says (grade one) appointments should be made by the two thirds vote” of cabinet ministers if they fail to reach consensus.

“That’s why the constitution should be amended to give the president back his authority and to have the final say on the appointments … through the coordination with the involved minister and the monitoring authorities,” Suleiman told As Safir.

The president should also be given the authority to propose the appointments to the cabinet based on the approved mechanism and allow the government to vote on it through the majority and not two thirds of ministers, he said.

Asked about differences between him and Free Patriotic Movement Michel Aoun over the name of the candidate for the post of Higher Judicial Council president, Suleiman said: “I told him that Judge Alice Shabtini is the most suitable … and the other candidates could be later appointed when Shabtini retires.”

But Aoun stressed to hold onto his stance, Suleiman said. Media reports have said that the FPM chief is backing Judge Tannous Meshleb for the post.

Suleiman added that he suggested moving forward with other appointments pending an agreement on the head of the HJC. But so far nothing has been put on the agenda of the cabinet.

Al-Liwaa daily reported on Wednesday that a meeting could be held at Baabda palace between Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, Premier Najib Miqati, Minister of State for Administrative Reform Mohammed Fneish and several officials from the monitoring authorities to resolve the issue of administrative appointments.

The vacancies in administrative posts have badly damaged the government work, al-Liwaa said.

The Civil Service Council would inform Fneish about the vacancies soon, it added.