Lebanon’s Parliament opened a general debate on the government’s performance on Tuesday, with fiscal discipline, the electricity crisis, and the framework agreement emerging as key points of contention during a session chaired by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Berri said at the outset that lawmakers had opted for a general debate rather than a session dedicated to interrogation or questioning of the government.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told Parliament that he was appearing on behalf of his “reform and rescue” government to present the state of the country, outline what his cabinet had accomplished in the face of ongoing challenges, and set out its commitments for the next phase.
Defending the government’s fiscal discipline policy amid calls for increased spending, Salam warned that any additional unfunded expenditure could put pressure on liquidity, foreign currencies, monetary stability, and purchasing power.
“Fiscal discipline does not mean abandoning the people; it is, in fact, protecting the people,” Salam said, stressing that Lebanon cannot address today’s crisis with the policies that helped produce yesterday’s crises.
Electricity and Development
Salam devoted considerable attention to Lebanon’s electricity crisis, pointing to the formation of the sector’s regulatory authority after a 22-year delay and the adoption of an electricity policy paper that opens the door to private-sector investment in power generation.
He also highlighted efforts to restructure the sector and revive the Arab Gas Pipeline to the Deir Ammar power plant.
On development, Salam said work was underway to expand the container terminal at the Port of Beirut and revive the project to develop Rene Moawad Airport in Qlayaat as part of a broader plan to develop North Lebanon and Akkar.
The plan also includes developing the Port of Tripoli, a railway project, the special economic zone, and the Rashid Karami International Fair.
Le député libanais Ali Ammar a affirmé que « la Résistance restera tant qu’un seul pouce de notre territoire sera occupé », réaffirmant ainsi son attachement au maintien de la résistance face à l’occupation de territoires libanais. https://t.co/e8CkHpQry1 pic.twitter.com/kgHEzsnzVl
— InfoSudLiban (@InfoSudLiban) September 15, 2026
MPs Challenge Government
Deputy Parliament Speaker Elias Bou Saab said lawmakers had yet to understand what the framework agreement entails, calling on Salam to explain its provisions and what it is expected to achieve.
“We have not understood until this moment what the framework agreement is, and we hope the prime minister will explain what it is and what is expected to be achieved through it,” Bou Saab said.
MP Ibrahim Al-Moussawi, meanwhile, challenged questions over the role of the resistance, asking, “You ask what the resistance has done? We ask, “What has the state done to arm the army and defend the land?”
He said clear answers were needed on the state’s performance and responsibilities, particularly regarding the arming of the Lebanese Army and its ability to defend Lebanese territory.
MP Al-Moussawi also said there was no objection within the Media and Communications Committee to privatization and public-private partnerships but questioned how reforms could be achieved when lawmakers’ questions to the state went unanswered.
MP Inaya Ezzeddine said the government’s response to the need to accommodate displaced people had not been sufficiently swift.
“The crisis cannot be managed on this scale in the way it was handled,” she said, stressing that protecting children alone was not enough and that the government must help them rebuild their lives.
She called for exceptional measures under the current circumstances to ensure students could safely return to schools and asked about ministry plans to address the social and demographic consequences of the Israeli aggression.
MP Hassan Ezzeddine said during his remarks that “the enemy is the root of Lebanon’s woes,” accusing the authorities of signing the framework agreement with “Israeli” ink without possessing any leverage.
He said the authorities should have presented their sources of strength in advance, stressing that Lebanon’s internal equation was governed by national understanding and that any attempt to weaken the resistance was doomed to fail.
“Lebanon cannot be built through exclusion,” Ezzeddine said, arguing that relying on outside powers was an illusion and that the country could only be built through understanding and consensus among all its components.
MP Ibrahim Kanaan said parliamentary oversight was not intended to target the government but to protect the state and citizens.
“Lebanese people want clear answers: Where is the state’s decision? Where is reform? And where are the deposits?” he said.
MP Jamil Al-Sayyed said the framework agreement had been signed without being presented to Parliament, arguing that its implementing arrangements would produce consequences and therefore make it unconstitutional.
He added that agreements that cannot be terminated on an annual basis require the approval of Parliament, while accusing the Legislation and Consultations Authority of having become “available on demand.”
MP Ali Hassan Khalil said any negotiation or agreement should ultimately be judged by its outcome, what it delivers to Lebanon, and what obligations it imposes on the country.
Addressing Salam, Khalil said, “You said now, Mr. Prime Minister, that the agreement reduces the cost for the Lebanese. The question is, what cost has it reduced? Has there been a real ceasefire?”
He questioned how the cost had been reduced while demolition and bulldozing operations continued and villages were being “erased from the records” and asked what had been achieved in terms of enabling residents to return to their villages.
“We may disagree politically and differ in our assessment of the risks, and those differences may reach a certain point, but political disagreement must not turn into a rupture or incitement among the Lebanese,” Khalil said.
“We are in greater need of opening channels of dialogue. Lebanon cannot be built by targeting anyone but through partnership, dialogue, and the state and its institutions,” Khalil concluded.