Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab launched a proposal on Saturday to hold early parliamentary elections in the country in an attempt to stem the wave of protests against the country’s political and economic crisis, exacerbated by Tuesday’s big explosion in the port of Beirut.
“I am prepared to assume the responsibility of the Government for the next two months until all parties agree to the next phase to follow and on Monday I will call on the Council of Ministers to organize these early elections”, reported in a speech collected by the Lebanese news portal Naharnet.
Hours before this announcement, Christian Kataeb party deputies announced their departure from the Lebanese Parliament as a protest against the Government, according to what the training leader, Sami Gemayel, made known.
The three resignations of the Christian party followed those of Marwan Hamade, the party of Druze leader Walid Jumblat, and independent deputy Paula Yacoubian, who asked for the resignation of all deputies because “Parliament is already out of the decision-making process”.
The Lebanese ambassador to Jordan also resigned after the explosion, which left 158 dead and more than 6,000 injured, is considered a symbol of the government’s incompetence.
The explosion, according to initial investigations, was caused by the improper storage of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate in the port, seized in 2014 from the ship Rhosus, to a Russian businessman and with a Moldovan flag, for failure to pay port fees.
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