Cabinet Calls On Electoral Bodies to Begin Preparing for Parliamentary Polls after Deadline Expiration

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  • W460
  • W460

The cabinet on Tuesday approved a decree calling on electoral committees to begin preparing for the parliamentary elections, a decision which implicitly determines the date of the anticipated polls despite the expiration of the constitutional deadline.

"We have signed a decree to call on the electoral committee (to start preparing for the polls) and it was referred by the Minister of Interior to the relevant authority,” Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said after the cabinet's evening session at the Grand Serail.

Al-Jadeed television revealed that the printing of the Official Gazette “was delayed until the end of the cabinet's session to include the decree on the electoral committees.”

The constitution stipulates that there should be a 90-day period between signing the aforementioned decree and holding the vote.

Accordingly, the decree should have been signed on Monday evening at most as the polls are scheduled to take place on November 16, 2014 following the 17-month extension of the parliament's term.

"We did our job and the parliament is to decide on holding the elections,” Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi said after the evening session.

The 90-day period is aimed at inducing the parliament to hold the polls, the minister added.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq was recently tasked with taking all the necessary measures to hold the polls, including sending today's approved decree to cabinet.

The minister had in turn stated over the weekend that he had “completed all of his duties to that end.”

But Mashnouq remarked that the “security situation does not allow holding the vote on time.”

The Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, AMAL Movement and the Kataeb party have all announced their rejection of extending the parliament's term for the second time. Meanwhile, al-Mustaqbal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party voiced support for this option.

Hizbullah, however, has yet to announce its stance on this matter.

Separately, the cabinet approved to give licenses to different universities, allowing them hence to found new branches, faculties, institutes and programs of studies.

A license was also issued allowing the establishment of an anti-violence and human rights faculty, without determining in which institute of higher education it will be opened.

But the ministers postponed discussion over licenses to establish new universities to the coming session.

The conferees also hailed Education Minister Elias Bou Saab's “solution” of granting students who applied for official exams passing statements, a decision which was strongly deplored by the Syndicate Coordination Committee.

PM Salam stressed at the beginning of the session on the necessity to elect a president “as soon as possible to complete the work on constitutional institutions,” according to Jreij.

S.D.B./ M.T.

Comments 4
Default-user-icon kazan (Guest) 19 August 2014, 19:31

Reaction on the topic and not the individual behind the topic:
Extending means postponement of needed decisions to get out of the mess; one remedy to get out of the mess is to ensure that all Lebanese are united and proud to have one flag. And if this is not feasible then don't hesitate to take the alternative decision : "split Lebanon in 2 countries". Moreover all other initiatives and compromises are sleeping pills and anesthetics to fool the population.

Thumb lebneneh 19 August 2014, 19:54

I just wish that the Lebanese people will wake up from their coma and vote differently this time (if the elections take place) and do not follow their animalistic sectarian instincts. If we keep on voting the same people to power we will keep on getting the same results. The hell with M14 and M8!

Default-user-icon me (Guest) 19 August 2014, 21:18

Agreed - the definition of insanity: doing things over and over again hoping the result will be different….

Thumb charlesmartel 20 August 2014, 15:04

remember the 3 stooges tv series.. now we have the 128 stooges never ending series... i am voting for no one this time....