Gemayel Rejects 'Necessary Legislation' Amid Vacuum, Calls on Candidates to Clear the Stage
Kataeb Party leader Amin Gemayel on Friday rejected outright the approval of draft-laws under the slogan of “necessary legislation” at a time when Baabda Palace is vacant, saying the candidates running for the polls should step aside to facilitate the election of a president.
“The most important legislation is the election of a president as soon as possible,” Gemayel said during a press conference he held at the Kataeb Party headquarters in Beirut's Saifi district.
“Any discussion on legislation would legitimize the vacuum” at Baabda Palace, he said in reference to the agreement among certain parliamentary blocs, including Kataeb's ally the Lebanese Forces, on holding a parliamentary session to approve the controversial public sector wage scale.
The Kataeb MPs are among several blocs boycotting legislative sessions under the excuse that the parliament cannot convene in the absence of a head of state.
The blocs that “are able to guarantee a quorum for a certain draft-law are capable of doing the same for the election of a president,” Gemayel said.
He stressed that his party's MPs, who are part of the March 14 camp, won't attend any session other than the election of a president.
“The only exception is (a session on) the consolidation of power,” he said in reference to a possible extension of parliament's mandate, which expires in November.
Gemayel called on the presidential candidates who failed to be elected after May 25 to clear the stage for other figures.
“Certain people who are holding onto their candidacies are harming the country,” he said, without naming them.
Lebanon has been without a president since May 25 when Michel Suleiman's six-year term ended over the failure of the rival MPs to agree on a compromise candidate.
“What are we still waiting for to put our interests aside and focus on the election of a president as soon as possible?” Gemayel asked.
LF chief Samir Geagea is the March 14 alliance's main candidate while Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Michel Aoun is unofficially backed by the March 8 alliance.
Aoun has not announced his candidacy, claiming he would do so only if there was consensus on him.
G.K.
M.T.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/148842 |