BEIRUT: Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said Wednesday that the presidential vacuum concerns all Lebanese, not just Christians.
He also said that Speaker Nabih Berri had reiterated his warning against obstructing the political process in light of the presidential void.
“The presidential vacuum doses not only concern a certain sect or political party. It is a problem for all Lebanese who will collaborate to end this void, but by through obstructing the work of [political] institutions,” Machnouk said after visiting Berri at his Ain al-Tineh residence.
He acknowledged that disrupting the political process was one way to exercise political pressure, but urged officials to use other means. “Obstructing these two institutions, [the Cabinet and Parliament], will not hasten the election of the president,” he added.
Machnouk spoke on behalf of Berri, saying the latter considers the Constitution as the basis for political action.
The Cabinet is responsible for discussing and enact policies that interest the people without bias, had Berri said. He stressed on the incorrectness of “using the presidential vacuum as an excuse to obstruct any constitutional institution in the country.”
Assafir newspaper published Wednesday comments made by Berri threatening to take measures against lawmakers if they boycott the next parliamentary session on June 10.
“It is no longer possible to remain silent about what is going on, and those who have harmed the Constitution will hear something from me they’ve never heard before,” he said.
Christian MPs from March 14 and MP Michel Aoun’s blocs had announced last month that they would not discuss any issue before electing a president, unless the topic was of high importance or affects national interest.
In parallel, the Cabinet failed Tuesday for the second time in less than a week to agree on a mechanism to exercise full executive powers, including the president’s prerogatives.
This pushed Prime Minister Tammam Salam to blame what he called a “traditional” inter-Christian struggle over the presidency for the deadlock. Speaking to MTV, he said he hoped that the Cabinet’s next session would resolve the prerogatives issue.
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