Lebanon is on the anniversary of its independence … without government or celebrations

Tomorrow Sunday, Lebanon will mark Independence Day with no celebrations, amid the ambiguity surrounding efforts to form the next government, a month after Prime Minister Saad Hariri was appointed to form it, and the exchange of allegations about the obstacles that hampered their formation.

The stalemate, the new demands and the obstacles aroused public discontent in political circles. The speaker of parliament, Nabih Berri, put it in a short sentence in which he said: “Independence started with a government, where are we?”, Referring to the inability to form a government that works now. Although the independence celebrations were canceled due to the Corona virus, President Michel Aoun sends, tonight, Saturday, a message to the Lebanese on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of independence, in which he addresses current affairs. Political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Aoun “continues to insist that he has the exclusive right to elect Christian ministers, and this contradicts the powers that the Lebanese constitution has assigned to the designated prime minister, which constitutionally allows him to sign the decree in accordance with President. The republic. “Sources asked,” Why was Aoun forced to withdraw the names of some of the skilled and qualified Christian ministers after Hariri agreed with them? “

Sources added that Deputy Gebran Bassil “wants to confiscate Christian representation in the government, thinking that he is protecting himself” from the sanctions imposed by the United States and, therefore, “wants to control the government’s third-party obstructor to transmit a message of that these sanctions will not affect their political future. “
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