Opposition MPs declared that they will boycott the legislative session on Monday June 19 which they described as “unconstitutional.”
The boycott decision by 29 parliamentarians belonging to the blocs of the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb, Renewal, and Change, comes “after the obstruction of the 12th session that was meant to elect a president of the republic (June 14) by the obstructionist team,” the MPs said in a statement, in reference to the Hezbollah-Amal led camp.
“The session is unconstitutional because it is not possible to approve additional credits in the absence of the 2023 budget, which the government, lacking parliamentary and popular confidence, has not prepared,” they said, accusing Speaker and head of the Amal Movement, Nabih Berry, of acting indifferently by summoning a legislative session “as if nothing has happened.”
The parliamentarians said their stance is dictated by their principles and the constitution.
They said by attending the session they would “undermine Lebanese citizens’ rights, especially those of public sector employees.”
The MPs decried Berry’s “attempt to impose his will” in a bid to normalize despite the presidential vacuum, stressing that “parliament cannot legislate in the absence of a constitutionally mandated president and remains an electoral body until the election of a president.”
