NaharNet, Lebanon
March 4 2010

Appointments Made by Majority Vote: Aoun’s Bloc Vetoed, Hizbullah
Abstained, Tashnag Approved

Following a heated debate, 20 Cabinet ministers voted in favor of a
series of appointments and the Council of Ministers is scheduled to
hold an extraordinary session on Thursday to approve other
designations.

Selection of names was not itself shocking, but the way Prime Minister
Saad Hariri handled the issue when he insisted that the appointments
be made by a majority vote of the Cabinet.

Those who voted in favor of the measure where ministers representing
Future Movement, Progressive Socialist Party, AMAL, Lebanese Forces
and Phalange Party.

Three ministers from Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc vetoed the
appointments and two Hizbullah members abstained from voting.

And to complete the surprise, Tashnag Cabinet Minister Abraham
Dedeyan, who is a member of Aoun’s bloc, was the person who tipped the
balance in the voting.

The government on Wednesday named former Cabinet Minister Khaled
Qabbani as head of the Civil Service Council, Judge Aouni Ramadan as
President of the Audit Bureau and Magistrate Ahmad Karam as head the
Judicial Inspection Committee.

Cabinet also agreed to a proposal by Energy and Water Minister Jebran
Bassil to stop subsidizing diesel oil.

"Minister Bassil will submit suggestions in the next session aimed to
help citizens and reduce their fuel expenses," Information Minister
Tareq Mitri said.

Cabinet will meet Thursday to approve appointments for the Banking
Control Committee.

Beirut, 04 Mar 10, 08:10

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress