Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli said he believed there was a plan to disrupt the rule of President Michel Aoun.
“What is happening today is a programmed process to disrupt President Michel Aoun’s reign,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that since the first day of Aoun’s assumption of the presidency, the stalling in adopting a new electoral law and the problems that hindered the government’s formation have all indicated attempts to thwart the current tenure.
“No one will benefit from troubling the presidency… the first losers will be Lebanon and its citizens,” Ferzli said during an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.
Commenting on the Aley incident on June 30, which resulted in the killing of two persons, the deputy speaker strongly condemned the crime, noting that it “possessed all the characteristics to be referred to the Judicial Council.”
The government has been paralyzed since that day, due to internal disagreements over the referral of the case to the Judicial Council.
In this regard, Ferzli said: “I believe the government should convene to manage the affairs of the country and the people… while the judiciary should take its natural course to investigate the crime.”
He stressed that Prime Minister Saad Hariri avoided the holding of Cabinet sessions, “in light of the sharp divisions so as not to allow a blow to the government.”
“I supported this step; he [Hariri] is right, and in my opinion his decision is wise; but today, a month later, President Aoun sees the need for the Cabinet to reconvene in the absence of a solution,” he underlined.
On the other hand, the deputy speaker expressed optimism regarding the next stage.
“The coming days will be better and what is happening today on the internal arena is just obstacles to the march towards the better phase, such as the obstacles placed before the election law, the formation of the government and the budget,” he remarked.
