In the wake of the voices of public sector employees and retired military personnel, which were tried to be silenced by the tear gas fired at them by the security forces deployed in downtown Beirut to prevent them from storming the walls of the Grand Serail, a search was under way at the Serail table to approve granting increases to public sector employees, and it was actually decided to raise The minimum wage in the private sector rose to 9 million pounds, and the transportation allowance to 250,000 pounds. It also raised the transportation allowance for public sector employees to 450,000 pounds, and approved a 4-fold increase in public sector pensions, in addition to the two salaries that were previously approved.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who was presiding over the session, commented on the protest movements that take place in conjunction with each cabinet session, saying: “We are here to discuss the demands raised, and they are mostly right, and they were met and approved according to the capabilities available in the treasury, and we express our understanding of the cries that were raised.” The demonstrators launched it, and we assure that we will spare no effort in following it up.
With regard to the item approving the financing of the municipal elections, which was originally postponed from Al-Najma Square in the morning, Minister of Information Ziad Makari commented at the end of the cabinet session by saying: In the next ministerial session, the Minister of Interior will have a new vision about the municipal elections and their dates.
Regarding the details of this day, it began with noise and shouting, after Representative Osama Saad accused the government of lying to the Lebanese and said: “The government said it is ready and does not need elections.”
Representative Saad’s statement did not please the caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, who was present at the session, and he replied, “You are all lying to the Lebanese.” After that, the atmosphere flared up, and the voice of shouting rose, and Saad Lamikati said again: You cannot talk about Parliament.
A member of the “Strong Lebanon” bloc, Representative Ghassan Atallah, participated in the debate that won his vote as well, so that the aforementioned session ended with “Al-Murtaji” by everyone, which confirmed that all parties are in a state of collusion and intersection of interests, and the municipal and elective elections were postponed for about a year. Noting that the one who secured its quorum and charter is the “Aounist movement,” despite its boycott of all legislative sessions.
It must be noted that today's parliamentary session is the first legislative session to be held in the era of the presidential vacuum, after the "compact" Christian position prevented the convening of any legislative session, and led practically to the closing of the parliament, and therefore, the convening of the aforementioned session today would not have happened had it not been for The rift in the Christian position, specifically in terms of the discrepancy between the two main blocs: the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement.
It must be noted that the search for the reasons that led to the cancellation of the municipal elections for the second year in a row is no longer important, and whether the reason lies in the absence of political will, as Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said, or in the government's lack of readiness, as the extensionists say, or In the lack of readiness of the Shiites, along with Gebran Bassil, and the lack of interest in holding these elections, as the Lebanese Forces say, what is important, according to observers, is to read the results of this political round and the extent of its repercussions on the presidential election session.
Returning to the state of anger carried out by the protesters, which ended hours after setting fire to tires and clashing with the security forces, with the end of the cabinet session, provided that they set a new date to express their discontent with the authority, with the latter setting a new date for approving new provisions.
Rawiya Hashmi (Beirut) @HechmiRawiya
