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On Sunday, various opposition groups and parties in Lebanon announced a common position and plan to address the multiple crises in the country.
These groups, actively involved in the unprecedented protest movement that erupted in Lebanon in October last year, have so far failed to show unity among themselves.
Representatives of these groups and parties delivered speeches in Beirut’s Martyrs Square, which was the center of the unprecedented protest movement that Lebanon witnessed, and which resented the combined political class and the demands for its departure.
As stated in a joint document of these opposition groups, which was read on the podium, what the country is currently witnessing is caused by the “greed” of the political system.
Successive governments that were formed under the existing political system failed to satisfy popular demands in terms of improving living conditions.
The government of interim Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned on August 10 after a terrible explosion in the port of Beirut that left at least 188 dead and a large group of Lebanese blamed the political class accused of corruption and negligence.
Opposition groups listed the main provisions of their program, which includes comprehensive reforms that will push for the establishment of a non-sectarian political system and a more sustainable economic model.
Naji Abu Khalil, a member of the opposition National Bloc party that supports the protest movement, said: “This moment is of utmost importance, because it shows that 30 different groups have spoken with one voice, nullifying the government’s claims that there is no opposition. “
“This is a first step towards establishing an organized front that is capable of rising to the level of the challenge of the crisis in Lebanon and to the level of the expectations of the Lebanese people,” he added.
Opposition groups have held intense meetings since the Aug. 4 explosion, in an effort to draw up a list of names of figures who could form an efficient and independent transitional government.
“We have names. We are ready,” Hassan Snow of the opposition group Watan March told AFP, adding that “tonight is a very important step.”
“It is the first time that the groups that emerged mostly from the October 17 revolution have reached an agreement on a joint program,” he said.
This comes on the eve of the appointment of a new prime minister, who is expected to be Ambassador Mustafa Adib, after he was elected by Sunni community leaders, contrary to what the protest movement in the street demands.
The election of this unknown figure comes hours before the return of French President Emmanuel Macron to Lebanon, after he urged Lebanese officials to undertake profound reforms in the political system.
