Lebanese gov’t takes office at start of new parliamentary session

Beirut, May 22 (EFE).- The Lebanese government took office on Sunday at the start of a new legislature following parliamentary elections on May 15 in which no political party won a clear majority.

In a statement on Saturday, President Michel Aoun had announced that the government had effectively resigned with the beginning of the Parliament’s mandate, but asked it to continue on an interim basis until a new government is formed.

During its last session held on Friday, the government, led by Najib Mikati, approved the purchase of cancer and chronic disease medication, imposed limits on bread productions and raised tariffs and fees in the mobile phone sector, according to a presidential media office statement.

Mikati’s cabinet was formed after over a year of political deadlock driven by the resignation of Hassan Diab in August 2020 in the wake of the Beirut port explosion.

Disagreements between the parliamentary blocs delayed the new cabinet for months amid one of the country’s worst economic crises in over a century and a half. Diab was the caretaker prime minister. EFE

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