BEIRUT (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Najib Mikati, the prime minister-designate of Lebanon, has started a new effort of government formation and ended the protracted political impasse that has engulfed the nation for months.
After their Wednesday meeting, President Michel Aoun received a proposal from Mikati for the creation of the government on June 29. Mikhati said that they were beginning to agree after talking about it again today.
Mikati and Aoun’s relationship is thought to have improved as a result of the meeting. Their ties had turned sour when Aoun claimed the government formation as proposed would rob his political team of the ministries they desired to retain.
Aoun was informed by Mikati of a cabinet gathering he convened for Tuesday and hosted at his home. Since the administration has been acting as a caretaker since the parliamentary elections in May, no discussions have been held in the official Cabinet hall.
The customs dollar issue and pressing financial and economic issues were the main topics of discussion during the ministerial conference.
According to a source in the PM’s office, Mikati felt reassured following the meeting with Aoun. He intended to establish a government soon, but he did not want to divulge the specifics of the discussions.
The source said that Mikati tried to reconcile the differing opinions of the ministers regarding the customs dollar during the ministerial meeting between those who wanted to price it using the rate of 12,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar and those who wanted to use the Sayrafa platform rate of 26,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar.
The official exchange rate that has been in effect for the past three years of economic collapse is still in effect for the customs dollar, which is set at 1,507 Lebanese pounds to the dollar.
In order for the customs dollar to be based on the rate of 20,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar, the source predicted that they would decide on an average exchange rate. Any choice in this regard needs to be approved by the government, which can only occur if a new administration is created and given the support of Parliament. As of September 1, Parliament would become an electoral body, therefore this must be done before then.
The customs dollar needed to be settled and approved to feed the state treasury and limit the collapse, a political observer said.
Lebanon must comply with the custom dollar price in order to finish its deal with the IMF, including passing the capital control law, approving the 2022 budget and restructuring banks.
Political analysts worry that constitutional issues related to the caretaker government overseeing the presidential elections may be made up, which would indicate that such a government is not qualified to assume power in the event of a presidential vacancy, leading to the current president’s continued tenure after his term ends.
Aoun’s political team, the Strong Lebanon Bloc, issued a statement on Tuesday warning of the risks of failing to form a government under several justifications that would allow a resigned administration to assume the presidency if a new one was not elected by the constitutional deadline.
The group declared that any effort in that direction was rejected and permitted constitutional anarchy, which may generate a practice that could give rise to many other ones.
The bloc maintained that the presidential nominee must come from a parliamentary group with balanced representation or must have considerable backing from other parliamentary groups. It further added that it would not accept the candidacy of someone without any capacity for representation.
