Caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. (Credit: AFP archive photo)
BEIRUT — On Tuesday, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati responded to the criticism over his handling of the government's work throughout the presidential vacancy, and called for a head of state to be elected "as soon as possible."
"The government is not responsible for the presidential vacancy and the political wars between the various protagonists. Nor is it responsible for preventing the election of a president," said Mikati in his speech at the 3rd Diaspora Economic Conference held in Beirut.
"The group that claims to preserve the president's prerogatives is the same one that has resorted to blockades for years and is constantly working to paralyze the government's work," he said, in reference to the Free Patriotic Movement led by MP Gebran Bassil, which regularly criticizes Mikati's cabinet.
Mikati then called on the forces that "oppose" the government's work to "elect a president as soon as possible."
"Those who think they can put the government under tutelage are wrong. The Constitution is clear, and we respect it," he stressed.
The FPM have opposed caretaker government meetings since the end of Michel Aoun's term of office on October 31 and accuse Mikati of attempting to assume the privileges of the presidency. Despite having held 12 electoral sessions, Parliament has failed to elect a president due to a lack of political agreement.
Despite criticism, Mikati is trying to avoid political conflict with the Christian parties, particularly the FPM, over appointments to vacant posts in the Military Council. Mikati told L'Orient-Le Jour on Monday that his cabinet would not be meeting any time soon.