Change and Reform to Appeal Decrees Issued by Cabinet, Threatens Dialogue Boycott

The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc led by MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday announced that it will file an appeal against the decrees that the cabinet issued during its session on Thursday which was boycotted by the bloc's two ministers and their Tashnag Party ally.

“The bloc has decided to file an appeal with the State Council against all the decrees that were issued in this session, which required the signatures of all ministers,” said the bloc in a statement issued after its weekly meeting, stressing that “any decree cannot be issued should any component insist not to sign it.”

And calling for “agreeing on a unified interpretation of the National Pact,” Change and Reform lamented that “there is favoritism in the government's handling of the file of (military) appointments,” accusing Prime Minister Tammam Salam's cabinet of

“discriminating between sects.”

The bloc's boycott of Thursday's cabinet session was linked to the thorny issue of security and military appointments. Defense Minister Samir Moqbel has recently postponed the retirement of Higher Defense Council chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kheir after no consensus was reached over three candidates that he had proposed, angering the FPM which says that it opposes term extensions for all senior officers.

The movement fears that the extension of Kheir's term could pave the way for a new extension of the tenure of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji next month. Qahwaji's retirement had been postponed in September 2013 and his term was instead extended for two years.

Moreover, Change and Reform threatened on Tuesday to boycott a national dialogue session scheduled for September 5.

“There is a need to unify the principles related to the National Pact in order to preserve true partnership,” the bloc said, warning that “dialogue might lose its value and use and its attendance might become unnecessary.”

As for the stalled presidential vote, Change and Reform called for “respecting the decision of Christians regarding the State's top post.”

Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and the MPs of Hizbullah, Aoun's Change and Reform bloc and some of their allies have been boycotting the parliament's electoral sessions, stripping them of the needed quorum.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah.

Hariri's move prompted Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to endorse the nomination of Aoun, his long-time Christian rival.

The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.