Listen to the article
The delay in the retirement of the Army Commander-in-Chief, General Joseph Aoun, is almost a done deal. Instead of retiring next January 10, General Aoun would stay in office for another year, or at least six months, depending on the decision made by the MPs.
This delay would come through the vote on a draft law on Thursday during the parliamentary session convened by the Speaker Nabih Berri. Knowing that the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Elias Bou Saab, who spoke on Monday after the meeting of the Chamber’s bureau, did not rule out a last-minute step in the Council of Ministers to avoid a vacancy in the army command. Parliamentary sources confirmed this to al-Markaziya news agency in the evening, adding that the Council of Ministers would hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the issue, before parliament takes up the matter on the second day of its plenary session.
According to political sources, maintaining the army commander in his position would be linked to the Council of Ministers appointing a new Chief of Staff, who, under the law, assumes interim responsibility in the event of a vacancy in command. This position has been vacant since the retirement of Amin el-Orm on December 24 last year.
It should be noted that four draft laws, characterized as urgent, aiming to postpone the retirement of the Army Commander-in-Chief and other officers, have been submitted to Parliament. One of them could be voted on, but it is also possible that they will be “merged” to formulate a new draft law. As Bou Saab stated, and as most MPs wish, the crucial aspect is that the voted text shouldn’t be susceptible to being invalidated. The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, is completely opposed to maintaining Joseph Aoun at the helm of the army. The FPM might well file such an appeal.
Four Draft Laws
The four draft laws are as follows:
- The parliamentary bloc of the Lebanese Forces proposes to raise the retirement age of any Army Commander-in-Chief to 61, instead of 60.
- The National Moderation bloc (mostly ex-Hariri supporters from North Lebanon) suggests delaying the retirement for “security services chiefs, in office or on an interim basis, of the rank of general or major general” by one year. While the FL’s bill currently only concerns General Aoun, the Moderation bloc’s bill would also benefit the Director-General of the Internal Security Forces, Imad Othman (who holds the rank of major general), who is due to retire next May.
- For its part, the bill submitted by the Democratic Meeting parliamentary bloc (Progressive Socialist Party) provides for a three-year postponement of the retirement of all army and internal security forces officers, regardless of their rank.
- A quite similar proposal has been presented by MP Adib Abdelmassih (Renewal).
Chamber Bureau
The announcement of the legislative session on Thursday came while the Chamber’s bureau was meeting at Ain el-Tineh, chaired by Berri, to set the agenda. After the meeting, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Elias Bou Saab, stated that 16 draft laws completed in committees will be on the agenda of the plenary session, adding that two of them are awaiting finalization.
He emphasized that 105 draft laws characterized as urgent have been submitted to the Chamber, noting that “some are similar and others can be merged.” In this regard, Bou Saab noted that the final list of draft laws characterized as urgent to be studied during the session has not yet been established.
When asked about the texts regarding the postponement of Joseph Aoun’s retirement, he replied, “There might still be a solution within the government. If this does not happen and we are obliged to discuss such a law in Parliament, we must consider the appeals that could be filed. It is easier to file an appeal if a law is tailored to the needs of one person.”
Regarding whether there is a plan to “attract” the Lebanese Forces bloc to a session with a busy agenda without the bloc’s proposal being put to a vote, he replied, “What I will say now expresses my personal opinion. Parliament does not try to attract anyone to legislative sessions. When it is necessary to find a solution to citizens’ affairs, that should be a priority, and no one should be embarrassed at all.”
Bou Saab added, “I do not wish for Parliament, which is unable to meet regularly and legislate for matters related to education, health, public affairs, or to elect a President of the Republic, to only convene to extend the mandate of one or two persons. This is my personal opinion.”
He continued, “The texts approved by the majority of deputies will be voted on, and the others not.” He specified that Berri arranges the order of draft laws on the agenda, especially texts characterized as urgent.
Agenda
The agenda of the session will tentatively be made public on Tuesday, following the meeting of the joint parliamentary committees. These committees will examine three draft laws, and those adopted will be added to the list established by the Chamber’s bureau.
The bill and the two draft laws discussed on Tuesday are related to the approval of a loan agreement to finance social aid, as well as the provision of financial aid to teachers.
Among the 16 projects and draft laws mentioned by Bou Saab are two texts related to capital control and the sovereign fund (where the income that Lebanon hopes to generate from the exploitation of its potential offshore gas and oil resources will be placed). These two texts were on the agenda of the legislative session of last August 17, which did not take place due to the lack of quorum.
Read more
The bill related to transitioning from the end-of-service indemnities system to the retirement pension, as well as the draft law amending provisions of the CNSS law regarding women and their children – which were approved on November 29 last year by the joint committees – will also be on the agenda.
