Lebanese President Michel Aoun (L.) meets with then-Prime Minister Najib Mikati the Presidential Palace in Baabda on Jan. 5, 2022. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
BEIRUT — After Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati submitted on Wednesday morning to President Michel Aoun "the version of the government that seems suitable” to him, a spokesperson for Mikati told L’Orient Today that a negotiation is expected on the names proposed.
Here’s what we know:
• The spokesperson told L’Orient Today that Aoun would decide whether to sign off on the new cabinet after he “studies” the proposed ministers’ names, but it is still unclear when he might give his approval if he decides to do so. The spokesperson refused to state the lineup of names for the proposed cabinet.
• This development comes after two days of non-binding parliamentary consultations in which several parties announced their boycott of the future cabinet, in particular the Lebanese Forces, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Kataeb, the opposition members of Parliament and the bloc by Michel Mouawad.
• “I submitted to President Aoun the version of the government that seems suitable to me," said Mikati after a brief meeting with Aoun.
• A source at Baabda Presidential Palace told L’Orient Today on Wednesday that the proposed cabinet is made up of 24 ministers and that it includes names from the old cabinet as well as new names. “President Aoun still has to review the list and take his time before submitting his notes to Mikati,” the source said.
• The source also said that caretaker Minister Walid Fayad would be replaced by oil and gas engineer Walid Sinno in Mikati's proposed cabinet.
• Following non-binding consultations held on Monday and Tuesday, Mikati stated that his next government "will assume its responsibilities,” at a time when Lebanon has been suffering from a dire economic crisis and risks sinking into a political stalemate in the runup to October’s presidential election.
• Mikati’s caretaker government had reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund on April 7, under which Lebanon would receive $3 billion worth of financial assistance over 46 months if certain actions are taken and reforms are implemented.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post quoted a spokesperson for Mikati as saying that the president will sign off on the proposed cabinet lineup after studying it. The spokesperson said that Aoun will decide whether to sign off on the proposed cabinet lineup after studying it.