Lebanon PM Najib Mikati announced Resignation of his Government amid Cabinet Dispute

The Prime Minister of Lebabon, Najib Mikati on 22 March 2013 announced resignation of his Government. The decision came after the cabinet failed to approve the commission to oversee elections, scheduled in June 2013 and refusal of the cabinet in extending the tenure of the Police Chief Major General Ashraf Rifi, who will retire in April 2013.

The dispute was mainly created by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah that dominates the Parliament of Lebanon. The resignation of the Government still awaits its acceptance by the President, Michel Suleiman.

With the resignation of the Government, Lebanon has entered into the political crisis and it has been suffering from the protests in Syria. The Syrian conflict had affected Lebanon by the emigration of the refugees from Syria to Lebanon, which was also responsible in the slowdown of the country’s economy and a surge of 67 percent in its budget deficit in 2012.