Lebanese officials are rushing today, Wednesday, in the final moments to avoid a vacancy in the position of the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon when Riad Salameh's term ends next week after 30 years in the role. The possibility of this vacancy in a country beset by crises adds to fears of further division in a nation heading towards its fifth year of a severe economic and financial crisis. Despite the rapidly dwindling time, disagreements and divisions among politicians remain regarding the appointment of Salameh's successor or allowing his first deputy to perform his duties as stipulated by law, reflecting a broader discord that has also left the presidential position vacant and the country without an effective government as it has been under a caretaker government for over a year.
The "Hezbollah" group opposes the appointment of a new governor for the Central Bank of Lebanon, while Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati are leading efforts to designate someone to succeed Riad Salameh. The National News Agency reported that Mikati, along with his deputy Saadeh Al-Chami and Finance Minister Yusuf Khalil, met today with the four deputy governors of the Central Bank: Waseem Mansouri, Bashir Yaqthan, Selim Shahin, and Alexander Maradian. The four threatened earlier this month to resign if a successor to Salameh is not appointed, which threatens a complete void in the top positions at the Central Bank while economic crises worsen.
Those holding major positions at the Central Bank are chosen according to a sectarian quota system that also defines senior positions in the country. The governor must be a Maronite Catholic, while the four deputies—one from the Shiite community, one from the Sunni community, one from the Druze community, and one from the Armenian Catholics—must receive the endorsement of the political leaders representing their sects. Mikati has called for a cabinet meeting tomorrow, Thursday, to discuss the issue of appointing a new governor for the Central Bank of Lebanon. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah indicated that the caretaker government does not have the right to appoint someone to this position. The Free Patriotic Movement agrees and states that it wants a Christian legal monitor to manage the Central Bank.
Ali Hamdan, a senior adviser to the Parliament Speaker, denied that Berri's position is based on fears of a negative backlash. He stated to Reuters, “Mr. Berri supports the appointment of a new governor to avoid the worst and because this is how things are supposed to be dealt with. The government has the capacity to do so, even if it is a caretaker government, because it is a matter that should be addressed by the government, not because the situation may worsen if Mansouri is appointed.” Many Lebanese hold Salameh responsible for the financial collapse that began in 2019 along with the ruling elite. Salameh asserts that he is a scapegoat for this collapse that followed decades of corruption and wasteful spending by the ruling elite.
