BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman criticized the Lebanese government for its failure to make appointments to top public posts, and suggested the issue be resolved by a majority vote.

“I have said more than once that the government’s productivity is low and that an example of this is the administrative appointments,” Sleiman said in remarks published Wednesday.

He pointed out that the government has failed to adhere to a mechanism for appointments that had been agreed upon, attributing this to the politicians’ “narrow interests.”

Sleiman suggested that amendments be made to the Constitution that would give him the power to forward nominations to Cabinet based on the mechanism agreed upon – a simple majority vote instead of the two-thirds vote currently required.

“Since it is difficult to achieve this [appointments] in light of personal interests and political differences, we should amend the Constitution in order to give the president the power to decide on appointments after coordination with the relevant Cabinet minister ... and then present the names to Cabinet through the mechanism agreed upon, which is based on a majority rather than a two-thirds vote,” Sleiman said.

On the dispute between him and the leader of the Change and Reform bloc Michel Aoun over appointing a new president to the Higher Judicial Council, Sleiman said Aoun has stuck to his position of refusing to endorse magistrate Alice Shabtini, “who is the oldest and most suitable judge.”

Aoun supports Judge Tannous Mashlab for the post of the head of the Higher Judicial Council, whereas Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati back Shabtini, the head of the Military Appeals Court.