Mikati rejects 11th-hour offer by Aoun for reinstating his cabinet

Caretaker PM and PM-designate Najib Mikati has rejected an eleventh-hour offer by outgoing President Michel Aoun for reinstating his caretaker cabinet without changing any of its ministers, TV networks said.

“Presidency Secretary-General Antoine Choucair visited PM Najib Mikati at the Grand Serail on Monday morning, prior to the latter’s departure to Algeria for representing Lebanon at the Arab Summit,” al-Jadeed TV said.

“Choucair proposed to Mikati issuing (formation) decrees for the same (caretaker) cabinet so that it overcomes the constitutional obstacles, which prompted Mikati to ask Choucair about confidence in the government and whether Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil had decided to grant it,” the TV network added.

“Choucair said that it is up to parliament to decide, without giving Mikati a decisive answer on whether the FPM’s MPs would grant the government their confidence. Mikati then informed Choucair that the plane was waiting for him to take him to Algeria, thanking the visitor for his rejected offer,” al-Jadeed said.

Aoun’s six-year term expired at midnight and parliament has failed four times to elect a successor. Aoun and the FPM have argued that the caretaker cabinet is not eligible to assume the president’s powers in the event of a presidential vacuum.