Mikati continues parliamentary consultations as government boycotts increase

BEIRUT — For the second day, non-binding consultations have been ongoing with the Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati and parliamentary groups to form the government.

Here's what we know:

    • Mikati was appointed on June 23 to form a new government which will succeed his current team, which has been in charge of day-to-day business since May 22 following the legislative elections.

    • On Monday, he met with a number of parliamentary groups and Members of Parliament, where several parties, in particular the Lebanese Forces, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Kataeb, the opposition MPs, and the bloc of Michel Moawad, intend to boycott the government.

    • Others, like Hezbollah, have called for all-party cooperation.

    • Even before the appointment of Mikati last Thursday, several politicians had set their conditions as to the composition of the future team, which will then have to be submitted for a vote of confidence by the Parliament.

    • Mikati obtained 54 votes from MPs out of the total 128 MPs in the Parliament.

    • In July 2021, following a 13-month deadlock after the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab in August 2020, and after two successors appointed to replace him, Mustapha Adib and Saad Hariri, both failed to form a government, Mikati was appointed to the post again.

    • Mikati’s caretaker cabinet was tasked with a series of measures to attempt to pull Lebanon out of its financial and energy crises.

    • While proposed energy deals with Jordan and Egypt that were planned to bring more hours of electricity per day by early this year have still not been implemented, Lebanon did sign agreements with Jordan and Egypt, and Mikati’s cabinet adopted an energy sector reform plan, one of the prerequisites for the World Bank’s financing of the deals.

    • Mikati’s caretaker government had also reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund on April 7, where Lebanon would receive $3 billion worth of financial assistance over 46 months if certain prior actions or reforms are implemented.