Change and Reform: No Ministerial Portfolio Can be Permanently Allotted to Certain Sect

The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc stressed Tuesday that no certain ministerial portfolio can be permanently allocated to a certain sect, in reference to Speaker Nabih Berri's insistence on keeping the finance portfolio with his AMAL Movement.

“We will not establish practices that pave the way for wrong norms,” said the bloc in a statement issued after its weekly meeting, calling for the rotation of ministerial portfolios and stressing that there is no “national interest” in “permanently allotting a certain portfolio to a certain sect.”

“The course of the government formation categorically proves that there are no bilateral or tripartite deals regarding the government,” Change and Reform added, calling for the creation of “a national unity cabinet in which everyone and all components would be represented.”

Turning to the rapprochement between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces, the bloc emphasized that the emerging alliance is not aimed at “excluding or marginalizing anyone.”

“This agreement is aimed at restoring the presence of our Christian component in national decision-making and we call on everyone not to attack this agreement,” Change and Reform added.

Outlining its vision for the coming period, the bloc called for a speedy government formation and for “passing an electoral law conforming with the National Pact to pave the way for holding the parliamentary polls on time.”

President Michel Aoun's “oath of office is our project for the coming period and we will attach importance to the economic situation,” Change and Reform went on to say, underlining that the files of “electricity, water, dams, oil and telecommunications are all pressing issues that cannot withstand any delay.”

Berri's AMAL Movement has clearly stated that it wants the finance portfolio while noting that “all other portfolios are negotiable.”

But while Berri's partners in the negotiations have suggested, according to al-Akhbar newspaper, that “the Taef Accord did not stipulate that the finance portfolio should always be allocated to the Shiite sect,” Berri has noted that “the Taef Accord stipulates that it should be part of the Shiite sect's share on the basis that the finance minister's signature on decrees is the only Shiite signature in the executive authority.”

“The finance portfolio was not with the Lebanese Forces so that I try to take it from them. They are the ones saying that they want to adhere to the Taef Accord,” Berri has been quoted as saying by his visitors.

Media reports have also said that the Free Patriotic Movement is also seeking to grab the finance portfolio.

Aoun's election as president and Saad Hariri's appointment as premier-designate have raised hopes that Lebanon can begin tackling challenges including a stagnant economy, a moribund political class and the influx of more than a million Syrian refugees.

The process of forming a government could take months, with horsetrading likely to revolve around the distribution of key posts like the finance, defense and energy ministries.