Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri, along with the incumbent ministers, must step down now, according to a Lebanese protester who spoke to SEE on Friday.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to streets of Beirut on Thursday and Friday, calling on the government to quit.
Protesters' Demands
“A technocratic government should be formed to resolve the deteriorating crises that Lebanon has been witnessing over the past three years,” Mohamed El-Zein told SEE.
The 60-year-old protester stressed that the parliament has to be dissolved and a snap election should be held upon the Orthodox Law.
According to the Orthodox electoral law, each sect has the right to elect its own MPs under a proportional representation system based on a nationwide district.
The law had faced severe criticism in the past from the Future Movement bloc and MP Walid Jumblatt’s Democratic Gathering bloc.
“Be the streets...Be the decision,” Zein addressed the other protesters.
What’s Happening in Lebanon?
Hariri is expected to deliver a speech to the nation at 6:00 pm (Beirut Time), following a violent night leaving two dead persons and dozens of injured.
The protests erupted over the government’s plan to impose new taxes amid a severe economic crisis.
During Thursday’s protests, protesters expressed their anger at the cabinet’s members and accused them of corruption and mismanagement.
The protests are seen the biggest since the garbage crisis sparked in 2015.
The protesters are chanting: “Revolution!” and “Thieves!”
The government is discussing the 2020 budget, and new taxes have been proposed, including on tobacco, gasoline and some social media telecommunication software such as WhatsApp.
Telecommunications Minister Mohamed Choucair appeared on TV after the protests began on Thursday and said Prime Minister Hariri has asked him to drop the proposed tax on WhatsApp.
Contributed by Passant El-Zaitony
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