Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri asserted on Wednesday that he would not sign a decree forming the government if it includes a Sunni representative from the March 8 coalition allied with Hezbollah.
But the Shiite party stuck to its demand, keeping the door of negotiations open with Hariri and hoping that President Michel Aoun would come up with a solution that would facilitate the formation of the new cabinet.
Before announcing his lineup, Hariri should hand to Aoun a final list in the form of a decree that must be signed by both men.
According to sources, the lineup is almost complete, only lacking the names of 6 ministers from Hezbollah and the Amal Movement of Speaker Nabih Berri.
While Hariri’s sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the PM-designate’s stand “is final and firm,” sources from the rival camp had dissimilar views, asserting that Hezbollah would continue to demand that the Sunnis of the March 8 alliance be represented in the next government.
Later on Wednesday, sources close to consultations that Hariri is undertaking told Asharq Al-Awsat that there had been a new plan to solve the Sunni obstacles. “It seems this proposal would be implemented soon,” they said.
The source said caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil suggested that Aoun names from his share a “Sunni whom Hariri does not see as a provocative personality and who is not from the parliamentary bloc of MP Toni Franjieh.”
Therefore, the sources said the names of Faisal Karami and Jihad Samad would be excluded from the list of candidates.
Early this week, Hariri was ready to announce the lineup after solving the Lebanese Forces obstacle following the Christian party’s decision to participate in the next cabinet.
However, his mission was once again obstructed by a new request from Hezbollah to have the Sunnis of March 8 represented by a minister in the new cabinet.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
