The Parliament will hold a legislative session on Thursday to address 16 bills and legislative proposals that have been approved by parliamentary committees. MPs will also consider urgent legislative proposals, several of which are related to delaying the retirement of the Army Commander-in-Chief, General Joseph Aoun, and other officers from the Army and Internal Security Forces.
It is currently uncertain which urgent legislative proposals will be debated during the session, as it depends on the time available after examining the 16 items on the agenda. All proposals related to the command of the Army have been placed at the beginning of the list of urgent legislative texts distributed on Wednesday.
The proposal submitted by the Lebanese Forces, which aims to raise the retirement age of any army commander-in-chief to 61 years instead of 60, stands at the top among the 105 urgent legislative proposals currently at the Parliament.
Other texts presented by the Progressive Socialist Party bloc, the National Moderation bloc (North Lebanon), and MP Adib Abdelmassih (Renewal) are also among the leading proposals.
The text submitted by the National Moderation bloc proposes delaying the retirement by one year “for security service chiefs, in office or acting, holding the rank of general or major general.” In addition to Joseph Aoun, the Director-General of the Internal Security Forces, Imad Othman (who holds the rank of major general and is set to retire in May of next year), would benefit from this proposal.
As for the text submitted by the parliamentary bloc of the Progressive Socialist Party, it suggests delaying the retirement of all Army and Internal Security Forces officers by three years, regardless of their rank. A quite similar proposal was made by MP Adib Abdelmassih.
As for the 16 bills and legislative proposals already approved in committees, some have been in Parliament for many months, and others for years. These include bills related to capital control, the Sovereign Fund, the transition from end-of-service indemnities to retirement pensions, and the legislative proposal on judicial independence.
In addition to these texts, which could lead to lengthy discussions, the agenda includes several requests for the approval of loan agreements.
Nevertheless, the sovereigntist opposition blocs are coordinating their stance for this session, considering the convocation of Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to a meeting on Friday, which could result in delaying General Joseph Aoun’s retirement.
While some members of the Change bloc have already decided not to participate in the session, other blocs might attend Parliament and only enter the Chamber during the vote on texts aiming to retain Joseph Aoun in his position.
Given the Free Patriotic Movement’s intention not to participate in the session, despite its previous involvement in similar sessions after the start of the presidential vacancy, it’s possible that Wednesday’s session may not be held due to a lack of quorum.
