BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri will not leave Beirut until the Cabinet crisis over a decision-making process is resolved, local newspaper An-Nahar reported Monday.
Citing sources close to Hariri, the daily said Hariri has decided not to return to his residence in Jeddah until the government situation gets back to normal and Cabinet meetings were resumed.
The report said Hariri has held intensive contacts with the concerned parties, seeking a Constitutional solution to the Cabinet crisis that would satisfy everyone.
The Constitution stipulates that if unanimous approval cannot be achieved, standard decisions can be passed by a simple majority, and major decisions, specified by Article 65, with the approval of two-thirds of the Cabinet’s members.
An-Nahar said Hariri will present his solution to Prime Minister Tammam Salam, who returned to Beirut Sunday after a three-day holiday in Rome.
Al-Liwaa newspaper quoted Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas as saying that Salam is expected to discuss Monday ways to solve the Cabinet crisis with the various political parties.
Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the government “will remain unproductive” unless a new decision-making process has been introduced.
The government did not hold its weekly meeting Thursday, and Salam has stressed that the Cabinet will only resume its meetings after a new decision-making process can be agreed upon.
The government began exercising the powers of the presidency since May, when the post became vacant after President Michel Sleiman's term ended with lawmakers failing to elect a successor due to lack of consensus.
Since then, members of the 24-member body have insisted on the unanimous approval of decisions and decrees, significantly reducing its productivity.
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