NNA - Prime Minister Najib Mikati issued a statement this afternoon, in which he announced the cancellation of the cabinet session that was scheduled for upcoming Monday.

He said: "The process of electing the President of the Republic constitutes the priority required to complete the convening of the constitutional institutions and restore full order to the Lebanese state. This matter, which we stress in all our stances, meetings, and encounters, is shouldered by the deputies who are required to elect the president and not to hesitate in carrying out this constitutional duty."

"However, it seems that some are trying to divert attention from obstructing the election process or failing to secure the consensus required to complete this election, by targetting the government once again, while it strives to ensure the continuity of the work of public utilities and to address basic issues as much as possible and as capabilities allow," MIkati added.

He regretted that instead of taking international stances and warnings about the seriousness of the situation into account and uniting to complete the required resolutions, and activating emergency meetings to discuss how to get out of the crises mentioned by the International Monetary Fund, we are witnessing an attempt to drag the country into a sectarian division to fuel conflicts, "and to give a purely administrative procedure an obnoxious sectarian turn."

"In view of these new circumstances and because we bear the constitutional responsibility with patriotic conviction, but without allowing us to be dragged into suicide or into something that does not resemble our convictions, for all these reasons, we announce the cancellation of the cabinet session that was scheduled for Monday," Mikati declared.

"The deputies and the concerned political and spiritual leaders have the responsibility of electing a new president and forming a new government. Let each party bear its responsibility," he concluded.

=========R.Sh.