The formation of a new Lebanese governed continued to stall on Saturday as the March 8 camp, particularly Hezbollah, remained insistent on naming all six deputies in the new cabinet.
“The issue of the representation of the independent Sunni ministers is not new,” said Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem said Saturday, renewing the party’s attachment to have those deputies represented in the new cabinet.
“As Hezbollah, we chose not express our views to the media over the Druze, Christian and Sunni hurdles. We expressed our stances to the concerned officials and Prime Minister-designate to facilitate the formation process,” he added.
“We have repeatedly said that the Sunni representation is essential. Just as they resolved the Lebanese Forces and Druze representations obstacles, they must work on ending the independent Sunni ministers issue,” he stated.
Hezbollah’s position was countered by criticism from the Higher Islamic Council, headed by Lebanon's Grand Mufti Abdel Latif Derian, which said that parties hindering the birth of the new government aim to paralyze the state and its constitutional institutions.
The Council asserted the importance of forming a new government in a calm and collaborative political manner, instead of creating tension and taking stringent positions.
For his part, former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the so-called “Sunni hurdle” was a fabricated problem to hinder the formation process.
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri refuses that a minister be appointed to represent the Sunni March 8 deputies in his new cabinet.
On Thursday, he traveled to Paris without offering any details about the latest developments related to the government formation process.
A day earlier, President Michel Aoun said the independent Sunni deputies, who demand a ministerial portfolio, “do not form a bloc."
Since his comments, Hezbollah and the president have had no direct contact to discuss the “Sunni hurdle.”
