Judge Ghada Aoun’s decision issued against the Governor of the Banque du Liban has blocked Baabda road to the designated Prime Minister yesterday. Today, new obstacles were thrown,  the decision issued stipulating a subpoena against the resigned Prime Minister Hassan Diab, despite some denying that the judicial decision against the Sunni PM has had any effect on the formation process.

President Mikati arrived in Baabda with the final formation document in hand, giving him the option of responding immediately or deferring additional study, as was the case. The meeting lasted less than 30 minutes, after which Mikati left without making any statements, indicating that the hours leading up to the final decision will be quiet, at least until President Aoun is given a final answer, either to approve the formation draft or to apologize in the latest estimate next Saturday. According to some, the next stage will be characterized by a negative period. If Aoun rejects Mikati’s formation, he will be faced with a Sunni decision to put the formation on hold.

Despite the two parties’ claims that there was a favorable atmosphere before the meeting, other sources suggested that the tone was still not encouraging, with ongoing arguments over some names, particularly those of Justice and the Interior Ministries. Even the exchange between the two portfolios failed, resulting in Mikati passing the proposed name of the Ministry of the Interior in exchange for President Aoun’s proposed name of Justice. According to sources, Aoun once again rejected Marwan El-Zein for the Ministry of the Interior, preferring to have Judge Henry El-Khoury handle the case, Former MP Sleiman Franjieh’s role has remained a half-participation so far, as he delegated the decision to name the Minister of Industry to MP Farid Al-Khazen, and he refused to name the Minister of Telecommunications until he knew how to split the shares and the remaining names.

The next 48 hours are critical, hoping that the statement reiterated by the European Union delegate in Baabda and Ain al-Tineh, will enter into effect: “The clock is ticking!”