Constitutional expert Said Malek stressed Sunday that the Lebanese Constitution did not set a deadline for the binding parliamentary consultation or the designation, explaining that this does not mean that the period is open.
In a statement to LBCI’s Nharkom Said, he said that the delay in holding the consultations happened twice before, in 2011 for 11 days after toppling Hariri’s cabinet and in 2013 for 13 days.
Malek said that President Michel Aoun must commit to the date set for the consultation on Monday, noting that they are bound to take place.
He also explained the rights of the deputy, stating that “an MP or a bloc has the right to attend the consultation or to abstain from attending.”
“They also have the right to nominate a person or several, and they can only list the qualities of the candidate,” he continued.
In this regard, he revealed that what has been said about delegating the president to nominate the next prime minister violated the Constitution.
The constitutional expert noted that the president has the right to hold off the designation after the consultations to hold further discussions, explaining that he does not have to designate the person who received the higher number of votes right away.