A parliamentary bureau meeting was held in Ain al-Tineh on Dec. 11, 2023. (Credit: Hoda Chédid/OLJ)
Keeping his promise to convene Parliament before Dec. 15, Nabih Berri just scored a point. Amid the presidential vacancy, the Parliament Speaker will convene a session on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 11 a.m.
The main purpose of this parliament session will be to potentially extend Army Chief Joseph Aoun’s term of office, which is set to expire on Jan. 10, 2024. Convening the session does not guarantee that Aoun’s term will be renewed and several questions remain unanswered.
The most obvious obstacle is Hezbollah’s position. Hezbollah is torn between preserving military stability amid war and preserving ties with its ally, Free Patriotic movement (FPM) leader Gebran Bassil, who disapproves of the Army Chief’s extension. How will Bassil react if Parliament votes to keep Gen. Aoun in office?
Berri officially set the parliamentary session’s agenda during Monday’s parliamentary bureau meeting in Ain al-Tineh. On the agenda are 16 draft laws and proposals. Besides the extension of Aoun’s term are draft proposals on topics including Old Age Security (OAS), capital controls, and the independence of the judiciary. These drafts have not received unanimous support in political circles. Could their inclusion on the agenda jeopardize the session’s success?
“All the draft laws and proposals that have already passed through the parliamentary committees have been added to the agenda,” said Amal Movement MP Michel Moussa, who is a member of the parliament bureau. He noted that more than 103 draft laws and proposals of dual urgency were discussed at Monday’s meeting.
“Most notably among these is the future of the army command,” Moussa said.
The Lebanese Forces (LF) will likely participate in Thursday’s session and provide it with substantial Christian support — even though the agenda does not focus solely on Gen. Aoun’s case.
Since the beginning of the presidential vacancy, the LF, like other Christian parties, has boycotted all legislative sessions, which they consider unconstitutional. Under the Constitution, Parliament can only serve as an electoral body during a presidential vacuum.
“We are leaning towards taking part in the session because the items on the agenda are necessary, and we want to press for an extension of Joseph Aoun’s term of office,” LF MP Fadi Karam told L’Orient-Le Jour. At the end of October, the LF proposed a draft law to delay the Army Chief’s retirement by a year.
The National Moderation group, which mostly consists of (Sunni) MPs formerly affiliated with the Future Movement, submitted a draft to extend the term of office of all security chiefs, in a clear attempt to keep General Imad Othman (Sunni), who is due to retire in May 2024, at the head of the Internal Security Forces.
“All chiefs of the security apparatus should be treated in the same way. We are therefore pressing for our draft law to be passed,” said Walid Baarini, a member of the bloc.
Baarini acknowledged that the extension of Aoun’s term of office is a “priority,” as if to hint that his bloc would endorse a draft advocating for the extension of the army chief term. “We will meet in the next two days to take a final decision on the matter,” said Baarini.
Thursday’s session will take place with the blessings of a large section of the political class, including Taymour Joumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party (PSP).
But Hezbollah’s position remains unclear. Hezbollah’s bloc could attend the session to ensure it will be held, but not vote in favor of extending Aoun’s term. This could be Hezbollah’s way of both preserving the Army’s stability and appeasing its Christian ally.
Bassil prepares his counter-attack
Far from accepting Aoun, Bassil is already preparing his counter-attack. The FPM leader will dwell on the issue of extending the Army General's term of office at a press conference scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m.
He could threaten to submit a challenge to the Constitutional Council to invalidate a law keeping Aoun at the helm of the Army after Jan. 10.
“Everyone must understand that we are against any unconstitutional move,” said FPM vice president for political affairs Martine Najem Kteily.
Deputy Parliament Speaker, Elias Bou Saab — who has strained relations with the FPM — also has reservations. “Any law tailored to an individual will be subject to challenge for invalidation,” he said after the parliamentary bureau meeting.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translation by Joelle El Khoury.