Two months after Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati presented his cabinet proposal, uncertainty persists in the nation when the political forces debate over the right person to occupy the office of the President of the Republic for the next six years.

After several consultations between President Michel Aoun and Mikati, the controversy over the distribution of ministerial portfolios continues, respecting the historical sectarianism in the Lebanese State.

From the last meeting at the Baabda Palace, the interim head of Government described the talk with Aoun as close, to finalizing the formation of the new Council of Ministers, which will have only 63 days of an official mandate.

In a communiqué, the Presidency of the Republic warned about the persistence of some in spreading false news and information, sectarian incitement, and misleading the public opinion to threaten the country’s security and stability.

Lebanon will hold presidential elections between September 1 and October 31, and the elected President will be responsible for forming the new cabinet.

The national pact for independence from France in 1943 established that the President of the Lebanese Republic must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, the head of Parliament a Shiite, and so on with the other positions.

pgh/iff/rob/yma