In comments to Italy’s Deputy Foreign Minister Marina Sereni, President Michel Aoun assured that the parliamentary elections scheduled for 2020 will take place on time.
“The democratic practice in Lebanon is safeguarded and will be translated into the upcoming parliamentary and municipal elections that will take place on time in 2022,” he said.
Aoun‘s term is due to end in 2022. His statement now ensures that there will be no attempt to extend his term on the grounds that Lebanon is in an unstable state.
“Forming a new government that achieves reforms is a priority in our political work,” he told Sereni, not mentioning how both he and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri have failed for nearly 7 months to form a government.
Earlier this year, a Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) official claimed that President Aoun‘s term would be extended, adding that not extending it would be an “injustice against him (Aoun) and a portion of the Lebanese population.”
Recently, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elie Ferzli suggested that the Lebanese Army takes over in a transitional government, fearing that the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and its allies would use the country’s collapse as a pretext to extend Aoun‘s term.
