Jreisati: I Did Not Agree to Sign the Decree of Resignation

Sleim Jreisati, advisor to former President Michel Aoun, confirmed that he did not agree to sign the decree accepting the resignation of the caretaker government. However, he rejected any talk of his dissatisfaction or linking his stance to his absence from the farewell of the presidency, justifying his absence by stating that he is not a civil servant. "The president chose me from outside this circle to be his primary advisor, knowing that I bid him farewell privately and delivered a speech on the occasion." Jreisati told "Nidaa al-Watan": "My refusal to sign the decree accepting the government's resignation is well known from the outset, and two statements have been issued by the media office of the presidency on this specific matter. However, nothing in the constitution prevents the president from signing it, even if the custom requires that decrees accepting the government's resignation, appointing a prime minister, and forming a new government be issued together. But President Aoun chose to sign it before leaving Baabda Palace to indicate that the current government is a caretaker government and because the signature of the next president would not be understood, as the term of the House of Representatives began during Aoun's presidency. Thus, the declaration decree has both legal and political significance, and the president wished to sign it alone before the end of his term, which is within his authority."