Mikati’s government faces the test of the “charter”

The head of the Lebanese caretaker government, Najib Mikati, ignored the pressures exerted by the Free Patriotic Movement, which supports former President Michel Aoun, to prevent him from convening a session for his government, discussing “urgent and humanitarian” matters, and decided to continue calling for a session scheduled for this morning, despite a statement issued by the 9th. Out of 24 ministers in his government, he announced a boycott of the session, and thus the absence of a quorum for it.

It seemed that Mikati was betting on a breach by at least one of the nine ministers, as sources close to him talked about “promises he received to attend” and doubts by these sources about the validity of the signatures on this statement, which declared refusal to participate in a session that Aoun opposes under the pretext of “refusing to harm the charter.” , amid the continuing sharp political and sectarian division over the “legitimacy” of its convening, during the vacancy in the position of president, based on the fact that it was a resigned government working to conduct business before the end of President Michel Aoun’s term and the inability to elect a successor.

Although Mikati pledged to discuss only urgent and humanitarian matters in the session, 9 ministers; Among them are 7 ministers of the “Free Patriotic Movement” loyal to President Aoun, who announced in a statement their boycott of the session. However, Mikati decided not to withdraw the invitation to the meeting, suggesting that the ministers among the boycotters informed him that they did not know the statement, while his media advisor, Faris Gemayel, said that the relevant departments in the prime minister did not inform him of any official objection or boycott of the cabinet session by the ministers. Gemayel stressed that “the cabinet will convene to decide on people’s issues; Especially the hospital file, which is considered an urgent item.

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