A parliament session devoted to discussing the new government’s ministerial statement was held on Tuesday in the presence of 68 deputies, before they were joined by the MPs of the Future Movement and the Lebanese Forces.
Before the session, during which Parliament was set to give its confidence to Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government, confusion appeared within the ranks of blocs that had previously announced their abstention from granting a vote of confidence, specifically the Future bloc, the Strong Republic, and the Democratic Gathering.
It was clear that those deputies were waiting for the quorum to be completed before entering the parliament hall, so that their presence would not be seen as a contributor to securing the quorum, which is 65 deputies.
Half an hour after the scheduled time of the session, Speaker Nabih Berri announced its launch without specifying the number of attendees, while several sources had confirmed that the number of deputies had not exceeded 58.
When Diab finished his speech, Berri announced that the session of confidence was opened in the presence of 67 deputies, “and the number now is 68.” Most of the MPs were from the blocs of Hezbollah, Amal Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), the Marada Movement, and their allies.
It was later confirmed that the PSP deputies secured the quorum, a piece of information that was not rejected by the party’s leader, Walid Jumblatt.
Based on this controversy, some parties questioned the constitutionality of the session.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, former Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar said that the session could not be regarded as unconstitutional.
He explained that the quorum was later completed, and Berri’s abstention from announcing the number of deputies at the beginning of the session was a “minor violation” of the Constitution.
“There are major violations and other minor breaches, which do not lead to the annulment of the session. What Berri did is a minor violation,” he stated.
Kataeb Party MP Elias Hankash, who boycotted the session, criticized the anti-government blocs for attending the session and securing the quorum.
“The deputies were supposed to respect the street protests and refrain from attending the session,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“This government, even if it got confidence vote, does not enjoy popular legitimacy,” he remarked.
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