Aoun to talk about appointments, dialogue in Ia Sunday speech

Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun is expected to reveal on Sunday his  stance over  the controversial military and security appointments and his  boycott of the national dialogue.

His stance  will be revealed  in a  speech during a ceremony that will be held on the occasion of handing over the Free Patriotic Movement leadership to his son-in-law Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.

Sources close to Aoun told An Nahar daily on Saturday that the blatant extension of the terms of high-ranking army and security officials will prolong the country’s political crisis.

Aoun has rejected the extensions of the terms of high-ranking army and security officials  and called  for the appointment of new officials.

The issue has caused huge differences among cabinet members, leading to almost paralysis.

Aoun wants to strike a deal on the promotion of army brigadier generals to the rank of major general before Oct. 15  when the term of Commando Regiment chief Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz ends.

The promotion will keep Roukoz, his son-in-law, in the army and make him eligible to become military commander in the future

Aoun, a presidential  candidate, has also called for direct elections to resolve Lebanon’s presidential deadlock which erupted in May last year when the term of Michel Suleiman ended.

Aoun did not attend the second round of all-party talks that were chaired by Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday. Bassil represented him  instead.

“What would we do in a dialogue in which the other party rejects to discuss” ways to grant the people the right to choose their president? Aoun’s  sources asked.

Aoun has been insisting that the Christians should decide who the Lebanese president should be and  proposed the  election  of a president in  stages:

In the first stage the Christian voters only will select 2  Christian   candidates

In the second stage the Lebanese voters will select one of the 2 candidates .

Aoun is reportedly counting on the Shiite vote  to get him to the Baabda Palace .

 The current system calls for electing the  president by the parliament .

Aoun and his backers in the Hezbollah -led March 8 alliance do no have enough votes to get him to the  Baabda Palace and that is why they have been boycotting the election sessions for fear that  the Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea will be elected  as the president  with simple majority

In Lebanon the president  should be a Christian Maronite

The prime minister a Sunni Muslim

The Speaker  a Shiite Mulsim

Currently , according to the constitution:

The Parliament picks the speaker

The President picks the prime minister after consultation with  parliament  members and the parliament then votes on the cabinet after it is formed by the PM designate

MP Alain Aoun told al-Joumhouria newspaper that the Change and Reform bloc has not yet taken the final decision to boycott the national dialogue.

“It is still giving it a chance to reach a solution on the different  issues that are under discussion,” he said.