The caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati decided to postpone the Cabinet meeting that was scheduled for today at 12:30 PM to 9:30 AM on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, according to a statement from the General Secretariat of the Cabinet. The General Secretariat clarified that "the postponement was due to the inability of the required number of ministers to attend to secure the legal quorum necessary for the Cabinet meeting."
It is noted that the ministers who arrived included: Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Al-Shami, Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil, Minister of Health Firas Al-Abyad, Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh, Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs Najla Riachi, Minister of Environment Nasser Yassin, Minister of Interior and Municipalities Bassam Mawlawi, Minister of Labor Mustafa Bayram, Minister of Communications Johnny Qarm, Minister of Culture Muhammad Wissam Mortada, Minister of Information Ziad Makary, and Minister of Tourism Walid Nassar.
Mikati held a consultative meeting with the ministers who attended at the Grand Serail. The Director General of the Presidency Antoun Chuqair and the Secretary General of the Cabinet Mahmoud Makiyeh also participated in the meeting. The General Secretariat had previously been informed of the absence of several ministers from the session, while others were unable to arrive due to a demonstration by retired military personnel at the entrances of the Grand Serail.
Ministers continued to arrive sequentially at the Grand Serail, where a Cabinet meeting was planned to coincide with the sit-in of retired military personnel, who closed off the entrances, pushing ministers to use motorcycles or walk to reach the venue. The surrounding area of the Grand Serail in Beirut witnessed chaos due to the demonstration of retired military personnel coinciding with the Cabinet meeting that was supposed to occur at 12:30 PM today.
