Abdullah: Democratic Gathering Bloc to Withhold Confidence Vote
Democratic Gathering bloc MP Bilal Abdullah said on Monday that his bloc shall participate in a parliament session on the new government but will not give it its vote of confidence.
In remarks he made to VDL (93.3) radio station, Abdullah said the bloc will meet on Tuesday to decide whether it will attend a parliament session dedicated to discuss the government’s policy statement.
“We will likely participate in the session but we will not give it our confidence vote,” he said.
Criticizing a leaked Policy Statement draft, which the government of PM Hassan Diab still has to finalize, Abdullah said it introduces “no radical solutions.” Instead it “adopts embellished words that impose new taxes, tough measures on Lebanese and a clear tendency for privatization without any practical measures,” he said.
The MP noted that his bloc will stand with “responsible and constructive opposition,” noting that the “government performance against tax evaders and looters of public funds is more important than the Policy Statement.”
The ministerial panel drafting the new government’s Policy Statement will reportedly hold a “final reading” session on Monday after the draft was distributed to all ministers.
A cabinet session will be scheduled later at the Baabda Palace under President Michel Aoun to approve the statement in its final version.
Source: Naharnet
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