March 8 Sunni MPs Insist on 'Exclusive' Representative in Govt.
The Consultative Gathering, a grouping of six Hizbullah-backed Sunni MPs, insisted Friday that their representative in the new government must “exclusively represent” the Gathering.
“We insist on the appointment of one of us or one of the three candidates whom we have proposed to represent us in the government,” the Gathering said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.
"We will not accept any new proposal or settlement that repeats the previous settlement that was rejected by the Consultative Gathering in form and content,” it added, referring to the botched attempt to nominate Jawad Adra as a consensus candidate loyal to both the Gathering and President Michel Aoun's camp.
“We regret the procrastination in the cabinet formation process, which can be attributed to (Prime Minister-designate Saad) Hariri's intransigence and his refusal to acnowledge the results of the elections,” the Gathering said.
And emphasizing that “it is not acceptable for a single party to obtain the one-third-plus-one veto power,” the Gathering described such a scenario as an “infringement on the prime minister's jurisdiction.”
“Before elections, March 8 and 14 did not exist, but it is necessary to return to them after the elections,” the Gathering said in a statement recited by MP Jihad al-Samad.
Turning to the issue of the relations with Syria, the Gathering called on the Lebanese government to “cooperate with the Syrian government to secure the return of Syrian refugees in a manner that achieves both their interest and that of Lebanon.”
