Lebanon crisis worsens presidency, IMF consultations
As the countdown to next month’s Lebanese presidential elections begins, Najib Mikati, the Lebanese Prime Minister, spoke about the elections on the sidelines of his participation in the work of the United Nations General Assembly, saying, “The election of a president of the republic does not constitute a complete solution to the problems that Lebanon is suffering from”, stressing that the expected constitutional entitlement is very necessary and a prelude to resolving many of the challenges and problems facing Lebanon, and warning that the loss of this opportunity would be a burden and another problem for Lebanon.
Donor crisis
The Lebanese Prime Minister sees the importance of speeding up the process of Lebanese consultations with the International Monetary Fund, stressing the need for Lebanon to be able to sign the final agreement as soon as possible, saying, “It will be a kind of credit approval to allow other donor countries to support and assist Lebanon,” and on the possibility of Lebanon getting $12 billion from the fund, the Prime Minister said: Once the deal is completed, I am not at all worried that we can get $12 billion very easily, explaining that donors (he did not specify) committed to his country that on the day Lebanon signs the final agreement with the International Monetary Fund, they will be able to provide double or triple what the International Monetary Fund offers.
Deepening the crisis
On the crisis of the southern maritime border demarcation, the Prime Minister confirmed that the American mediation contributed to the completion of the demarcation, but there are still details that need clarification. He praised the American mediation to support the deal, and said that the administration of the American President Joe Biden is doing everything possible to make these negotiations a success, noting that all the Lebanese political parties support the decisions and positions of the government in the negotiations.
Lebanese political analyst Mohammed al-Riz also supported Arab and international pressure on President Michel Aoun and Najib Mikati to form a fully-fledged Lebanese government that will manage the country’s affairs if the presidential election cannot be held after Aoun’s term ends in October.
He continued: Information reached more than one Arab capital, as well as Paris and Washington, to the effect that President Aoun is seriously considering a scenario to issue, before the end of his term, a decree to accept the resignation of the caretaker government; He would then appoint a small government that would assume the powers of the president of the republic as a transitional authority until a new president is elected.
The Lebanese political analyst said that this step would deepen the crisis and open it to various possibilities, including a division of power for a short period of time; So efforts were intensified on two lines; The first is to get out of the way with the Aoun scenario, even if minor concessions are necessary for Aoun.
The second line: Calling the Parliament, as soon as the government is formed, to convene in successive sessions to elect a new president of the Republic, he added, it seems that there is an indirect understanding between the various Lebanese political forces on this step, while everyone is looking forward to the position of Gebran Bassil and the Aouni Current cautiously in the coming days, which may be full of surprises.
