Bassil 'Presses' Hariri to Accept 32-Minister Format, Backed by Hizbullah
Hizbullah has backed Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil’s proposal on forming a 32-member government, media reports said.
Bassil is meanwhile trying to “press” Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to accept the suggestion, informed sources told al-Akhbar newspaper in remarks published Monday.
“Bassil’s has repeatedly announced that Hizbullah is not trying to prevent the Strong Lebanon bloc from getting the one-third veto power because the party is backing Bassil’s proposal on forming a 32-minister cabinet,” the sources added.
Senior Hizbullah official Sheikh Nabil Qaouq meanwhile said that “the 32-minister format guarantees that no one would cede their share and also guarantees the Consultative Gathering’s representation.”
“But the format was obstructed due to Hariri’s rejection of it, because he does not want to acknowledge their presence,” Qaouq added, referring to the Hizbullah-backed Sunni MPs of the Consultative Gathering.
“The problem is not in the FPM’s court but rather in Hariri’s,” the Hizbullah official added.
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