What if Tammam Salam resigns?
Myra Abdallah/Now Lebanon/August 29/15
NOW asks whether the resignation of the cabinet is a priority for protesters and who would benefit from it
TheYouStink movement has helped expose a bigger issue in Lebanon than garbage collection. When the movement’s organizers called people to take to the streets to demand a permanent and environmental-friendly solution to the garbage crisis, the Lebanese people found an opportunity to voice a wide range of demands. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the public’s goal became putting an end to the corrupt Lebanese political system. The large rally on Saturday, 22 August, saw protesters adopt broader demands, and some began calling for the resignation of Tammam Salam’s government. Even after being attacked, the protesters did not step back. On Sunday, they took to the streets again with the same demands. Between the crisis and a paralyzed cabinet that had already forced Salam to postpone several cabinet meetings, Lebanon’s prime minister considered stepping down from his post the following Monday. “Legally, [if Tammam Salam resigns], the cabinet becomes a caretaker cabinet,” said constitutional expert and lawyer Marwan Sakr. “The cabinet is currently doing the president’s job. If it resigns, it won’t be able to meet except for urgent issues — it will be unable to make decisions unless the decisions are very urgent. It will have less authority.” Moreover, Sakr says that the main problem in Lebanon today is that should Salam resign, the current cabinet wouldn’t be able to nominate a new prime minister due to the presidential vacuum. There would be no authority to nominate a new government.
Protesters’ demands
Speaking to various protest organizers at Riad al-Solh Square in Beirut, it became clear that the organizers, many of whom have declined to allow their real names to be used, do not have a clear roadmap. But they all agree on one demand — putting an end to a corrupt system by holding politicians accountable. Writer and director Lucien Bourjeily, one of YouStink’s organizers, told NOW that the movement’s first demand is that all ministers who are behind the garbage crisis and the violent attack against peaceful protesters during Saturday’s rally be prosecuted. “We did not specifically demand the resignation of the prime minister. We demanded that he be take responsibility for what happened,” Bourjeily said. “If he is unable to do so, then it is better for him to resign. Once he resigns, we need to have parliamentary elections called for by Salam’s caretaker government.”Although not part of Salam’s cabinet, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea urged Salam not to resign. For the party, as for many political parties and politicians who belong to the March 14 coalition, a president should be elected first so as to avoid a governmental vacuum, and then another cabinet formed.
“I do not accept a president elected by an illegitimate parliament,” said Sanaa, who attends the protests almost every day. “In a perfect situation, I think that the government should resign first and call for parliamentary elections. People will elect new MPs, and I think we will see many new names in the parliament this time because the Lebanese people have already had enough of the old and corrupt ruling class. Afterwards, the new parliament elects a president and then a cabinet will be formed.” Similarly, Wael Abdallah, one of the “Badna Nhesib” organizers, told NOW that calling for Salam’s resignation is not a priority. “Our priority is to prosecute all politicians who were behind the situation we reached today. We are coordinating with different groups to join our demands and if Salam is unable to hold the criminals accountable, his resignation would be better for Lebanon,” he said.
What happens next?
If the protests are not in Future Movement’s favor, they are definitely not in Hezbollah’s, the Free Patriotic Movement’s (FPM) or Nabih Berri’s favor either. Berri’s Amal Movement was accused of sending infiltrators to cause trouble during the protest so that the ISF would have a reason to attack protesters — a claim Amal has denied. TV channels connected to the parliament speaker, Future Movement and Hezbollah did not cover the protests until the situation in Riad al-Solh became chaotic and violent. Hezbollah and the FPM had previously blocked the election of a president by boycotting electoral sessions. On Tuesday, they withdrew from the cabinet’s session and did not attend Thursday’s session. Regardless of the intentions behind these abstentions Sakr says that from a legal point of view, the withdrawal of these parties does not paralyze the government. “The withdrawal of FPM and Hezbollah ministers from the cabinet’s sessions does not disrupt the quorum,” he told NOW. “They are claiming that their withdrawal will affect the government’s decisions because current ministers previously agreed that the cabinet — during the presidential vacuum — should only take decisions signed by 24 of the ministers. This is a legal heresy because a caretaker government should function according to the normal rules. Unfortunately, the March 14 coalition agreed on it for a while.”
Many protesters feel the resignation of the cabinet would not change anything. To them, the cabinet was not doing its job in the first place, and pressuring it from the street might push it to make crucial decisions. “If the cabinet resigned, the situation would be exactly the same. The next step will definitely be to call for parliamentary elections,” said Bourjeily. “Our priority is to have elections now, even before the resignation of the cabinet.” But to be able to call for new parliamentary elections the parliament should resign first — according to the constitution, a government can’t dissolve a parliament. Therefore, even if the cabinet resigns, it can’t call for parliamentary elections before the end of the parliament’s term. “In my opinion, demanding the cabinet’s resignation is not right at the current time,” said Sakr. “It will further paralyze the state’s institutions. The institutions are not functioning normally because of the presidential vacuum.” “The best solution is an escalation in demands. The first demand today should be the election of a president. When a president is elected, everything will become easier. Afterwards, the cabinet can resign and call for parliamentary elections being a caretaker government. And then, a new cabinet is created.”
Amnesty urges Lebanon to investigate use of force in protests
By Reuters | Beirut/Saturday, 29 August 2015/Lebanon should investigate allegations that security personnel used excessive force to disperse anti-government protesters in Beirut last week, Amnesty International said on Saturday ahead of another planned mass protest march in the capital. Protests drew thousands onto the streets before turning violent last weekend, injuring dozens and triggering a threat from Prime Minister Tammam Salam to resign as head of the national unity government. Another demonstration is planned in central Beirut starting at 6 p.m. (1500 GMT). The “You Stink” campaign has mobilised independently of the main sectarian parties after the government failed to agree on a plan to dispose of Lebanon’s uncollected trash, leaving piles of refuse rotting in the summer sun.
