No Hizbullah Right to Veto in New Lebanon Government
Outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said on Sunday that Hizbullah”s right to veto legislation would not be reinstated by the new Lebanese government.
The Shiite movement Hizbullah and its Christian allies last year obtained the right to veto thanks to a deal that allocated them 11 of 30 cabinet seats.
The deal was eked out to defuse a power struggle with the rival coalition of Saad Hariri, whose Western-backed coalition defeated the Iranian-backed Shiite group and its allies in a general election on June 7.
But Saniora said that the deal "has nothing to do with the Lebanese constitution or its democratic system," following talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit in Cairo.
"This is why this formula was for a predetermined period which ends with the end of the mandate of the current government."
"If a new government of national unity is formed, it will be based on partnership and not on the principle of veto," Saniora told journalists.
Hizbullah and its allies have demanded that their veto power over key decisions be maintained.
Hariri”s camp has said it would not accept this request while Hariri himself has said it was too early to speculate on such demands.
Saniora”s discussions in Egypt also focused on providing Lebanon with electric power and natural gas from Egypt.
Energy Minister Alian Tabourian, Petroleum Director-General Sarkis Hleiss and Kamal Hayek, Chairman of Electricite du Liban accompanied the Prime Minister.
Tabourian held bilateral talks with his Egyptian counterpart regarding the issue of supplying Lebanon with electric power and natural gas.