Political leaders gather to find a common ground regarding the formation of an interim government and the establishment of a bicameral parliament, aiming to alleviate the current political rift.
The National Consensus Commission (NCC) met on July 16, 2024, to commemorate "July Martyr Day." The gathering, presided over by NCC vice chair Ali Riaz, brought together Justice Md Emdadul Haque, Iftekharuzzaman, Badiul Alam Majumdar, Safar Raj Hossain, Md Ayyub Miah, Monir Haidar, and the Chief Adviser's Special Assistant.
During the meeting, the key outcomes and consensus-building progress of the second-round reform dialogues held since June 2, 2024, were reviewed. The discussion primarily focused on devising proposals and policy outlines to address differences among political parties about the appointment process of the caretaker government chief and the formation of a proposed bicameral parliament, particularly the Upper House.
However, the specific decisions or agreements made during the meeting were not specified. The meeting concluded with the members expressing gratitude to all participating political parties for their constructive and spontaneous discussions.
Interestingly, current high-level political proposals relevant to Lebanon focus primarily on security arrangements and Hezbollah’s disarmament within the broader Lebanon-Israel conflict context. U.S. envoy Tom Barrack's 2024-2025 proposals, for instance, call for the Lebanese state to eventually disarm Hezbollah in exchange for Israel ending attacks, withdrawing from certain Lebanese territories, and Lebanon receiving U.S. assistance with reconstruction and economic reforms.
Despite this, no publicly available information indicates active negotiations or proposals around bridging political differences specifically over the caretaker government leadership or establishing a bicameral parliament in mid-2024. Uncertainties remain about Lebanon's internal political will, including the role of President Aoun in navigating Shiite community support, and whether Israel and the U.S. will ultimately support removing Hezbollah’s weapons in a way that maintains regional stability.
The meeting was held at the commission office in the Jatiya Sangsad Complex, the same location where the dialogues with various political parties have been taking place since June 2, 2024. The specific political parties involved in the dialogues and discussions were not disclosed in the given information.
- The discussions during the National Consensus Commission meeting primarily centered on devising proposals and policy outlines related to policy-and-legislation, specifically focusing on the appointment process of the caretaker government chief and the formation of a proposed bicameral parliament.
- Despite the ongoing political proposals concerning Lebanon's security arrangements and Hezbollah’s disarmament, there seems to be no publicly available information indicating active negotiations or proposals around bridging political differences specifically over the caretaker government leadership or establishing a bicameral parliament, such as the one under discussion in the given text.
