During a Parliamentary session on Wednesday, the Head of the Finance and Budget Committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, emphasized that the budget law proposal lacks financial calculations, forming a constitutional violation for which the government is held accountable.
"A state without accounts is a state without responsibility, and a state without responsibility is a state without honor," he stated.
In turn, MP Melhem Khalaf stated during the budget session: "During the presidential vacancy, there is no priority over electing a president for the republic."
He said: "The Council meeting today is in session by law and is empowered by the force of the law to elect a president, and it is bound by the provisions of Articles 74, 75, and 49, especially since the quorum is complete.
MP Melhem Khalaf demanded an immediate start to elect a president, emphasizing: "I refuse to wait for what foreign entities decide for us regarding the presidency."
Meanwhile, MP Georges Adwan said there is a very serious problem that needs urgent attention in the judiciary, which has not taken any action in the case of the trial of the former Central Bank governor, Riad Salameh.
At the same time, he said five foreign countries will issue rulings in the "Crime of the Century" case.
He highlighted: "We must secure stability for our country by centralizing the decisions of war and peace with the state, negotiating border issues, and discussing what serves the country's interests."
MP Georges Adwan stated that "this budget is considered a continuation of previous budgets and does not include any real investments or tax reforms."
He continued by saying that the government has not taken any serious steps to address the issue of the Syrian presence in Lebanon, which poses an economic, financial, and security threat to the country.
"Thirty-three percent of detainees in prisons are Syrians."
MP Jamil al-Sayyed said from the Parliament: "The responsibility for the presidential vacuum lies with the Parliament," where internal and external political divisions and discrepancies hinder the president's election.
Al-Sayyed revealed, "We are in an exceptional and surreal situation that surpasses description. We no longer have the ability to hold the government accountable, as it can do as it pleases."
MP Jamil al-Sayyed declared that the "government does not bear the responsibility for not electing a president; it is responsible for the country, the people, and for all decisions that alleviate and preserve."
He added that "this budget aims to seeks to extract 'pennies' from the citizens' pockets, while the government could have collected funds from outside their pockets."
MP Elias Bou Saab said that it is the responsibility of the Parliament to elect a president; otherwise, "it should consider resigning," adding, "Let us go to early parliamentary elections."
Bou Saab said this budget has zero deficit, and "it does not meet the demands of healthcare, education, institutions, security forces, or the military."
In Turn, MP Hassan Fadlallah hoped that "we all find a way to elect a president, and this requires understanding, and we are among the parties working towards electing a president."
He affirmed that due to the geographical location of the south, its people carry the cause of Palestine.
Meanwhile, MP Michel Moawad stated, "Our presence here aims to ensure the quorum and to reject the government's budget, which is a budget of 'thuggery' and the displacement of the Lebanese."
He affirmed that the Lebanese are paying the price of the war on the borders, which could turn into a comprehensive war destroying Lebanon at any moment, stating: "I call for a return to the logic of the state and the principles of coexistence and national partnership established by the Taif Agreement."
MP Ragy el Saad expressed that what is needed is to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that secures the interest of the Lebanese people, as the current budget is not a "war budget."
He continued that the budget's goal is to "settle the obligations of the public sector, but it has not considered the financial collapse's repercussions and its impact on various societal layers."
MP Gebran Bassil commented in turn from the Parliament that "budget approval is the basis of legislative work, and the government passed a catastrophic budget without a vision or reform program."
He said that the absence of a President "is a crime against the Lebanese, not only the Christians," adding: "We oppose the mentality that facilitates governing the country without a constitution."
MP Michel Daher emphasized that there is a problem in collecting VAT because some people do not pay income tax, and there are regions where VAT is not collected. "Therefore, I call for expanded financial decentralization as the only solution."
Adding that as officials, "I hope that we lift banking secrecy to identify the location of waste and corruption to preserve people's money. I advocate for the application of comprehensive administrative decentralization."