Report: Lawmakers Draft Petition Demanding Extension of Qahwaji's Term
Several parliamentary blocs are drafting a petition to submit it to Speaker Nabih Berri, calling on him to hold a parliamentary session to approve the extension of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji's term, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday.
According to the report, the blocs expressed fear that any vacuum at the head of the military institution would lead to instability and chaos.
A lawmaker, who refused to be named, told the newspaper that the petition voices concern that there is a plot targeting the military institution, stressing the importance of holding a parliamentary session.
The lawmaker lashed out at the parliamentary blocs and MPs that might boycott the session, saying that they will be considered as “conspirators.”
The extension, in addition to several other draft-laws, has been put on the agenda of a three-day parliamentary session that Speaker Nabih Berri has called for on July 16.
But caretaker Premier Najib Miqati and the March 14 alliance stand firm on boycotting it over their claim that holding such a session with a resigned government was unconstitutional.
The Change and Reform bloc, on the other hand, rejects the extension of the term of Qahwaji, who turns 60 this September – the retirement age for the army chief.
The Free Patriotic Movement led by MP Michel Aoun has said that since the post was reserved for the Maronite sect, then Christians before others should decide his successor.
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