Salam: Government Does Not Seek to Fill Presidential Vacuum

Prime Minister Tammam Salam stressed that all efforts should be exerted in order to stage the presidential elections.

He told the Kuwaiti al-Qabas newspaper: “The government does not seek to fill the presidential vacuum.”

“The positive atmosphere that led to the formation of the cabinet of national interest should lead to the election of a new president,” he told the daily in an interview that will be published on Tuesday.

He hoped that the new president will be “elected by national means, similar to the government.”

The premier highlighted the security achievements made by his cabinet, saying that efforts are being made to revitalize the economy, especially in the northern city of Tripoli and the North.

“The political powers in government are fully cooperating with each other, which allowed us to contain the security situation in the eastern Bekaa region, the North, and other areas,” Salam stated.

The army and Internal Security Forces had implemented in recent months a security plan in Tripoli in order to contain clashes that erupt between the rival Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen neighborhoods.

The same plan was implemented in the Bekaa to crackdown on the spread of gunmen linked to the conflict in Syria.

Dozens of wanted suspects have been arrested in the crackdowns in Tripoli and the Bekaa, while several others remain at large.

M.T.

S.D.B.