27 MPs reject 'sectarian' incitement over caretaker govt. powers

Twenty-seven MPs met overnight at the headquarters of the Kataeb Party in Saifi to discuss the stalled presidential election and Speaker Nabih Berri’s call for a session aimed at discussing the letter of ex-president Michel Aoun.

“The conferees express their categorical rejection of the attempts at igniting sectarian polarization through fabricating a debate over the issue of the government’s powers during the presidential vacuum period, because this issue is settled in the Lebanese constitution,” the 27 MPs said in a joint statement.

They added that the “priority” stipulated by the constitution is “the immediate election of a president.”

“Accordingly, the conferees stress that parliament must convene as soon as possible to elect a president, because only this can restore the regularity of the work of institutions, and they call on the parliament speaker to intensify sessions in order to elect a president as soon as possible,” they said.

The statement was signed by the following MPs: Sami Gemayel, Salim al-Sayegh, Elias Hankash, Nadim Gemayel, Rami Fanj, Mark Daou, Najat Saliba, Waddah al-Sadek, Adib Abdel Massih, Ihab Matar, Walid al-Baarini, Ashraf Rifi, Mohammed Suleiman, Neemat Frem, Abdul Aziz al-Samad, Sajih Atiyeh, Ahmed al-Kheir, Nabil Bader, Michel Daher, Fouad Makhzoumi, Imad al-Hout, Bilal al-Hoshaimi, Ghassan Skaff, Jean Talouzian, Jamil Abboud, Ahmed Rustom and Michel Mouawad.