Charbel Says Extension of Suleiman's Mandate 'Inevitable'
Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said on Friday that the extension of President Michel Suleiman's mandate “is inevitable, whether he will agree on it or not.”
“The extension of Suleiman's term is inevitable if the political foes failed to form a new cabinet before his mandate ends,” Charbel said in an interview published in al-Akhbar newspaper.
He expressed pessimism over the possible extension but pointed out that “vacuum in the presidency post will have a negative repercussion amid the cabinet absence.”
Suleiman, whose mandate expires in May 2014, said previously that he would challenge the extension of his mandate if the parliament took such a move.
The president “will find himself obliged to agree on his extension to avert plunging the country into further political crisis,” Charbel pointed out.
“The country can't remain without a president,” the caretaker minister told al-Akhbar.
He pointed out that if the political foes failed to reach agreement over the new president, then Suleiman's term will be extended.
“If he rejected an extension to his term then we will have a parliament that isn't convening, a caretaker cabinet and a presidential vacuum,” Charbel added.
Talks over the presidential elections come amid soaring political tensions and the failure to form a new government.
Under article 49 of the Lebanese Constitution, the president shall be elected by secret ballot and by a two thirds majority of the 128-seat parliament.
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