Lebanon‘s new Cabinet won a vote of confidence from Parliament on Tuesday, paving the way for it to try and tackle the country’s crippling economic and financial crisis, despite a day of protests and riots that left nearly 400 people injured.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s Cabinet, which is supported by Hezbollah and its allies, won votes from the majority of parliament members present in the 128-member legislature.
At the end of the day, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said 63 legislators voted in favor, 20 did not give a vote of confidence and one abstained.
Earlier in the day, Lebanese security forces fired tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters near the parliament building in Beirut, where the new Cabinet presented a policy statement on reforms.
Protesters threw stones at security forces and tried to block the lawmakers’ path, delaying the start of the meeting.
A group of rioters later set fire to a bank in the downtown area.
Nearly 400 people, including a legislator and a journalist, were injured in the riots, some of whom were rushed to a hospital for treatment.
The meeting was held amid a crippling economic and financial crisis, Lebanon’s worst in decades, and an ongoing protest movement against the country’s hated political class.
The plan includes reforms in the judicial, financial and administrative fields, as well as plans fighting corruption and fixing the country’s finances.
Lebanon has one of the highest debt ratios in the world, standing at more than 150% of GDP and worsening over recent years with no economic growth and high unemployment.
