Change and Reform Awaiting 'Objective' Responses to Aoun's Initiative, Rejects Parliament Term Extension
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The Change and Reform bloc on Tuesday announced that it is still waiting for “scientific and objective” responses to Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's proposal of electing a president by the people.
Aoun “is still waiting for scientific and objective responses to his proposal and he welcomes them in advance,” former minister Salim Jreissati said after the MPs' weekly meeting.
He continued: “It has been said that his suggestion is destructive and a heresy... but these were responses to an initiative aimed at rescuing the country.”
The Change and Reform bloc lawmakers had proposed on Thursday a draft-law for a constitutional amendment to have direct presidential elections in Lebanon.
The proposal has been totally rejected by Aoun's rivals in the March 14 alliance who considered that it harms the Lebanese system.
But FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan snapped back at critics on Friday, claiming that the proposal for direct presidential elections is constitutional and aimed at boosting the role of Christians in governance.
In a related matter, the bloc reiterated its rejection of extending the parliament’s tenure.
“We are not good at the 'edge of the abyss' policy and this is a fixed principle,” Jreissati declared.
Separately, the lawmakers praised Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil's submitted complaint with the International Criminal Court “to prosecute Israeli officials and leaders of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant over committed genocides, the war in the Gaza Strip and (the acts of) ISIL in Iraq.”
The explained: “The FM's initiative is first of its kind and has been met with the cooperation of the ICC General Prosecutor who demanded some clarifications. Bassil then contacted relevant ministries and several countries to get the names of terrorists concerned with the complaints.”
Jreissati added: “We are directly concerned in the terrorism issue and a result to submitting the names of terrorists to the international judicial authority was stopping them and deterring their instigators and financiers.”
Bassil had announced on Monday that he received a confirmation from the ICC General Prosecutor saying that she has taken charge of the cases of the Gaza war and the ISIL attacks on Christians in Iraq.
S.D.B.
Y.R.
26 August 2014, 18:09
39
I wonder if the FPM MPs will resign in protest at being forced to extend Parliament's term.
26 August 2014, 18:50
36
Jreissati: We are directly concerned in the terrorism issue and a result to submitting the names of terrorists to the international judicial authority was stopping them and deterring the instigators and their financiers.
Will he submit Nasrallah's name to the international judiciary?
26 August 2014, 19:09
33
@Vasco: how are you today my christhian friend from the levanti?
26 August 2014, 19:13
12
take the cross off your avatar it does not belong to you, just like the lasssa church did not belong to you.
26 August 2014, 19:08
14
But FPM MP Ibrahim Kanaan snapped back at critics on Friday, claiming that the proposal for direct presidential elections is constitutional and aimed at boosting the role of Christians in governance.
"Boosting the role of Christians in governance." This whole system of confessionalism, tribalism and sectarianism needs to be eradicated. If the Christian politicians gave a damn about Christian governance they would all be united and we'd have a president. But no, all we have is two sides fighting over the presidency, each claiming to represent the Christians when both are a disgrace.
26 August 2014, 19:11
15
Aoun “is still waiting for scientific and objective responses to his proposal and he welcomes them in advance,” former minister Salim Jreissati said after the MPs' weekly meeting.
How can anything about responses to his proposal be "scientific"? What he's saying is the reasons to reject his proposal need to be legitimate. Aoun is deciding whether or not he should recognise rejections to his proposal. Is this guy something, or is he something?
26 August 2014, 20:13
24
He sold his soul to the divine party who knows precisely his mental condition.
26 August 2014, 21:07
32
Scientific and objective responses to the inane proposal? Is that what he wants? This is politics and law, not science. By law the proposal cannot be considered when the Chamber of Deputies sits SOLELY as an electoral body until the vacancy in the Office of the President is filled. Period. End sentence.
I have read that the Aouni are waiting until October when the Parliament is to go into regular session to submit the proposal. But guess what?? If by then the vacancy still exists, the Chamber of Deputies will remain a purely electoral as opposed to a legislative body and still cannot take up for consideration the Aoun Amendment. That's the objective truth for those who are not so blinded by ambition that they can't see it.
26 August 2014, 21:18
12
The FPM proposal is long overdue, and should be implemented ASAP. So why wasn't this proposed in 2013, before the current crisis? Why wasn't it proposed in 2007, before the previous crisis? Why wasn't it proposed in 2004, before Lahoud's extension? This could have been proposed by any party at any time. Direct elections should have been put in place when the constitution was written and this so-called nation was founded in 1943.
And this direct election proposal of yours isn't even direct. Muslims are being disenfranchised in the "first round" of voting. The majority of the citizens aren't even allowed to decide who the candidates are.
26 August 2014, 23:43
12
So out of my whole comment, that's the only part you respond to? You choose to ignore the fact that this proposal is prejudicial and unconstitutional. You think it's a great solution for Christians to elect "their" president, when in reality this proposal disenfranchises Muslims, who represent 70-75% of the population (at least Lebanese in Lebanon). What do you say to that? "Well in the second round Muslims get to vote" doesn't cut it.
26 August 2014, 23:50
12
And you didn't even understand the meaning of the sentence "this could have been proposed by any party at any time." I meant it literally, as in anyone could have come up with this stupid proposal. But none of the Muslims would come up with a "direct election" that excludes Muslims, and since Geagea is a servant to KSA (like you love to point out) he would never come up with the proposal. This law doesn't benefit the Druze in any way, so Jumblatt wouldn't propose it. So that leaves it to one person to come up with the proposal: Aoun, which is exactly what he did.
26 August 2014, 21:22
33
Strangely there is an ignorant hypocrite announce us who claims to support direct election by the people. But sadly (: he voted down my suggestion for the exact thing. Mine is even better than the senile fool's Iznogoud wannabe because the two top candidates are be selected by all the people of Lebanon. Then the Christian can elect the one who really represents them, win win.
Besides Aoun has already recused himself from running for president remember, he will only run as consensual or was that yet another one of his litany of lies
26 August 2014, 23:48
34
Can we evaluate his mental health thus applying medical standards? Thus he will have scientific, objective and evidence based proof of his insanity or in best case scenarios, traitorship
21 September 2014, 10:04
00
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