Hariri has stepped down Now, what next for Lebanon? gulfnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gulfnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Damascus: Loyalists of President Michel Aoun have raised eyebrows in Lebanon yet again this time by floating the idea of extending his mandate, which ends in October 2022.
The idea has been making the rounds for weeks, in closed circles however, without ever being discussed openly until last week, when it was floated on television by MP Maroun Aoun, a relative of the octogenarian president and member of his Free Patriotic Movement (FPM).
Members of the FPM immediately jumped on the proposal, describing it as the logical thing to do in order to avoid a presidential vacuum in October 2022. The only alternative to Aoun ought to be his son-in-law Gibran Basil, head of the FPM who has an open ambition of replacing his father-in-law at the Baabda Palace.
Damascus: A vaccine “race” is currently underway in Lebanon, as politicians compete with each other to please their disgruntled constituencies. Despite a severe two-week lockdown, described as one of the harshest in the world, the country is on the brink of a health disaster.
The number of COVID-19 cases as of Sunday were 317,836, including 3,562 deaths. Due to half-hearted measures during the Christmas holidays, more people died last month than they did during the previous year.
Hospitals are both packed and understaffed while people are pleading for ventilators, buying them off the black market anywhere between $700-$1,500, which is double their price.