The Future Bloc in the Lebanese Parliament announced its refusal to participate in the meeting called by Lebanese President Michel Aoun, heads of parliamentary blocs, next Wednesday to present the financial rescue plan approved by the government.
The bloc said in a statement that the natural place to discuss the plan is the parliament, warning of what it described as practices that violate the constitution to perpetuate the presidential system at the expense of the parliamentary democratic system.
For its part, the Lebanese presidency responded to the bloc's statement by asserting that Aoun's invitation falls within the core of cooperation between institutions, and that refraining from participating bears the repercussions of the implications of his decision towards the Lebanese and the international community.
The presidency pointed out that talking about a presidential system aimed at misleading, and that Aoun does not accept the confiscation of the role of parliament, and therefore the bloc has no right to claim the existence of practices that go beyond the constitution.
The Presidency condemned "the President's criticism as he seeks to secure the national consensus on the merit of the economic and financial reforms that the government has planned."
The Anatolia news agency quoted legal expert Louay Ghandour as saying that "the powers of the President of the Republic are mentioned in Article 49 of the Constitution, up to Article 63, and all of them do not provide for any authority to call a meeting in this regard."
This plan comes at a time when Lebanon is experiencing the worst economic crisis in its history, and witnessing unprecedented popular protests, since last October 17, raising political and economic demands.
The protesters forced the government of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to resign, on October 29, and was replaced by the Hassan Diab government on February 11, in which political forces refused to participate, including the Future Movement.