FPM Ministers Walk Out of Cabinet over Appointments, Miqati Threatens to Boycott Sessions

Prime Minister Najib Miqati on Wednesday threatened to boycott cabinet sessions if a dispute over the issue of administrative appointments was not resolved, after the Free Patriotic Movement ministers walked out from Wednesday’s session prompting its suspension.

The cabinet, however, managed to reach an agreement over the controversial issue of telecom data before the session was adjourned.

A judicial commission would receive the records of some 3.4 million subscribers and decide whether to hand them over to the security agencies or not. The cabinet also formed a ministerial committee headed by Miqati and comprising the ministers of justice, interior, defense and telecommunications, tasking it with following up on the issue.

“There were remarks about a delay in finalizing administrative appointments and the president proposed a list of candidates for the Disciplinary Council. The list was discussed and it did not enjoy consensus,” Information Minister Walid al-Daouq told reporters after the session, in reference to the objections voiced by the FPM ministers.

“No cabinet session will be held before resolving the issue of appointments and boycotting the sessions (by Miqati) is one of the options,” Daouq added, quoting Miqati as saying “I won’t do anything until an agreement is reached on the issue of appointments.”

Meanwhile, LBC television reported that Miqati “suspended the session to protest the infringement of his constitutional powers, despite the presence of quorum.”

For its part, OTV said “the cabinet session was adjourned after the Change and Reform bloc ministers rejected to approve the administrative appointments Miqati tried to impose.”

“Miqati tried to impose the appointment of Christian employees without consulting the ministers who represent the Christians according to the norms, prompting the Change and Reform bloc ministers to reject such a precedent,” OTV reported.

A dispute between President Michel Suleiman and FPM leader MP Michel Aoun over shares allotted to Christians has prevented consensus over administrative appointments, leaving several high-ranking posts vacant.

Separately, the cabinet formed a ministerial panel headed by Miqati and comprising the ministers of justice, interior, telecommunications and defense, tasking it with amending Law 140 pertaining to wiretapping, which was issued in 1999.

Information obtained by the Internal Security Forces’ Intelligence Branch on an alleged plot to assassinate high-ranking security officials, including its chief Col. Wissam al-Hassan, stirred a debate over the legality of providing security authorities with the telecom data to track phone communications.