Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni has prepared his resignation letter for a special Cabinet session which started at 3 p.m., as the political fallout of the catastrophic Beirut blast left the government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab hanging by a thread.
Local media MTV and Al Jadeed reported initially that Wazni had resigned but later, Al Jadeed said the minister had arrived for a Cabinet meeting with his resignation letter in hand.
This comes as Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm submitted her resignation earlier in the day. There has been a total of three official resignations in the last 24 hours ahead of a special Cabinet session at the Grand Serail which is expected to discuss Diab’s proposal for holding early parliamentary elections.
In her resignation letter, Najm said she submitted her resignation due to the Beirut explosion and subsequent protests demanding justice for those who died.
Faced with growing popular anger against Diab’s government, Information Minister Manal Abdel-Samad and Environment Minister Demianos Kattar resigned Sunday. Abdel-Samad cited her respect for those who were killed in the blast and frustration at the lack of change in her resignation statement.
The explosion that ripped through Beirut Port Tuesday, transformed the capital into a disaster-stricken city, killing more than 159 people, injuring over 6,000 and leaving about 300,000 people homeless.
Diab is reported to have told other ministers to hold off on resignations pending the results of a special Cabinet session in which the implications of the Beirut blast and the ongoing investigations is expected to be discussed
This article has been adapted from its original source.
