Adwan Announces Aoun’s Tenure to Be Debated in Parliament Following Session Postponement

During its Thursday morning legislative session, the Lebanese Parliament did not address the issue of extending the tenure of Army Chief General Joseph Aoun, who is scheduled to retire in January.

The session, which was attended by Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, saw a boycott by MPs from the Free Patriotic Movement. A report in the al-Akhbar newspaper earlier that day indicated that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri would not bring up the topic of Aoun’s term extension during this session.

Amal MP Ali Hassan Khalil announced that the session would reconvene at 6:00 PM, with the possibility of another meeting on Friday if necessary. Additionally, the Cabinet is set to meet on Friday and is expected to discuss Aoun’s term, potentially outside its planned agenda.

Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan remarked post-session that Parliament intends to debate Article 56 of the Defense Law and is likely to approve an extension of Aoun’s term, irrespective of the government’s decision in its upcoming session. Adwan also noted that there is a consensus among parliamentary blocs on a draft law aimed at postponing the retirement of all security chiefs.