Suleiman Hesitant in Signing $5.9 Billion Bill into Law as Berri Gives him Green Light
President Michel Suleiman is likely to throw the extra-budgetary spending ball in parliament’s court over fears that his approval of a $5.9 billion bill would have severe consequences.
Suleiman’s sources told As Safir daily published on Friday that the president’s legal experts are studying the amendments that the parliamentary finance and budget committee introduced to the bill referred to it by the cabinet.
The sources hinted that the president might not resort to article 58 of the constitution which allows him to approve an urgent draft law if parliament fails to take a decision on it within 40 days of its inclusion on the agenda of the legislature.
Parliament failed twice to endorse the 2011 extra-budgetary spending bill that was referred to it by the government over a dispute between the March 8 majority and the March 14 opposition which has conditioned its approval to the legalization of spending made by the previous cabinets of ex-PMs Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri in 2005-2010.
“There is now a duty to discuss a new version of the bill that takes into consideration the remarks made by the finance and budget committee and end any violation,” Suleiman’s sources told As Safir.
“The president would interfere and resort to his authorities by issuing the bill” only if the parliament fails again to approve it, they said.
But the head of the finance and budget committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, ruled out Suleiman’s hesitation not to approve the bill, telling the newspaper that the clarifications that he had proposed “end all confusion” on the issue.
Al-Liwaa newspaper also quoted Speaker Nabih Berri as saying that the parliament does not reject any attempt by the president to sign the bill into law.
Suleiman’s hesitance lies in threats by the opposition against circumventing the parliament.
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