Caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari, March 11,2022. (Credit: Dalati & Nohra)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour on Wednesday that the Marada Movement ministers (himself and caretaker Telecoms Minister Johnny Corm) will boycott the cabinet meeting scheduled for Thursday to appoint a successor to Banque du Liban (BDL) Governor Riad Salameh.
This boycott expresses "a position of principle, far from political considerations," Makari said.
According to local media, caretaker Tourism Minister Walid Nassar will also boycott the cabinet meeting.
Nassar told L'Orient Today that he will not attend the session if it is meant to “result in the decision of appointing a new governor or an extension.” He said he will only attend the meeting if the matter is merely discussed.
With less than a week to go before Salameh's term at BDL expires, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday called for a cabinet meeting to elect his successor.
By calling this meeting, Berri and Mikati are accused by detractors of stirring up tensions with the majority Christian parties and the Maronite patriarchate, who believe that, without a president in power, the government does not have the authority to appoint a new BDL governor.
Lebanon has been without a president since the end of Michel Aoun's term on Oct. 31.
Hezbollah, one of the main sponsors of the caretaker cabinet, is also challenging the appointment of a future governor.
Salameh, meanwhile, is being prosecuted in Lebanon and Europe in several investigations into alleged corruption, accusations he denies.