The Mufti of the Republic Abdellatif Deriane. (Photo courtesy NNA)
BEIRUT - Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian said on Wednesday that Lebanon "would be heading for the worst if a new government is not formed," as talks between caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and President Michel Aoun appear to be stalling due to political tensions over a possible new cabinet.
In a speech Wednesday, head Sunni religious cleric Derian urged Mikati to form a new cabinet, a process that has stagnated since parliamentary elections in May. A continued stalemate could have "negative consequences for everyone," he added. "The establishment of a new cabinet is a demand of all Lebanese, and if a new government is not formed we fear a situation worse than the one we are in, especially in the run-up to the presidential elections."
The mufti called on "support" for the outgoing caretaker cabinet amid the deadlock. He continued: "If we cannot form a new government, what about the election of a new president?" Parliament is set to elect a new head of state by Oct. 31, when current President Michel Aoun's term ends.
A presidential vacancy "would be catastrophic for Lebanon," Derian warned, adding that "what happened in the past must not be repeated," in reference to the nearly two-year presidential vacancy that preceded Michel Aoun's election in 2016.
The current government has been dealing with stagnation since the May elections. Reappointed to his post, Mikati has still not succeeded in forming a new cabinet, while a political tug of war pits him against the head of state and his supporters. Mikati said on Monday that in case of presidential vacancy, the head of state's powers would be transferred to the current caretaker cabinet, an option refuted by the Aounist camp.
Several observers fear that Aoun may cling to his position under the pretext that an interim cabinet cannot exercise presidential powers should a vacancy occur.
Dar al-Fatwa, the Lebanese Sunni Muslim religious authority which Derian heads, has recently advocated "Sunni unity" ahead of the presidential election. "The objective behind the initiative of the mufti is to unify the ranks of the community in particular and the Lebanese in general," a spokesperson for Dar al-Fatwa told L'Orient-Le Jour.