Lebanon: parliamentary official calls on army to take power

Lebanese parliament’s Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli [ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images]

The Lebanese parliament’s Deputy Speaker called on Monday for the army to take power and dissolve the constitution for a transitional period until the country rebuilds itself.

Lebanon is one long tale of disaster and crisis – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

“All Lebanese agree on the [transparency] of the Lebanese army,” said Elie Ferzli. “I call on it to take the place of the president, parliament speaker, and prime minister and the entire political class.”

He suggested that after dissolving the constitution, the army could run the country “for a number of years”, during which a new political order would be drafted.

The controversial official expressed his fears that the situation in Lebanon will deteriorate further into another civil war. If it was not for the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of foreign embassies in Beirut, he added, half of the Lebanese population would have left the country.

Ferzli explained that his call for the army to take over power is not a call for a coup, but a radical solution to produce a new order in power.

Responding to the politician’s remarks, presidential advisor Salim Jreissati called on him not to involve the army in state affairs.

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