Aoun Says Favors 'Vacuum' over Extension as Cabinet Postpones Discussing Electoral Commission

The cabinet held a meeting on Wednesday to tackle a number of issues, mainly Lebanon's security file in light of the latest threat of a suicide attacker that was foiled by the security forces over the weekend, as President Michel Aoun announced that he prefers "vacuum" over another extension of the parliament's term.

“If I'm to choose between the extension of parliament's term or vacuum, my stance is clear in this regard -- I will choose vacuum,” TV networks quoted Aoun as saying.

“Where is our potency and credibility should we fail throughout eight years to pass an electoral law although all politicians have agreed that it should be approved?” Aoun reportedly told Cabinet

Aoun's stance came after the Cabinet postponed discussing the formation of an electoral supervisory commission, which was raised by Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq.

According to OTV, Aoun noted that the approval of a new electoral law is the government's priority.

“Let no one threaten us with vacuum or extension and the oath of office was clear on the need to reach an electoral law and we must work on that,” Minister Michel Pharaon quoted Aoun as saying.

The Cabinet meanwhile decided to re-launch the first call for tenders of the oil and gas sector and agreed to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

It also approved a request for funds from the Public Works and Transport Ministry that is aimed at improving security and services at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport.

The cabinet had 62 items on its agenda.

During a closed-door meeting, normally held before every cabinet session, discussions between Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri focused on the security file and the electoral law issues.

At the beginning of the session, Aoun touched on the recurrent incidents of kidnapping, calling for “the implementation of measures that prevent abductions and totally control the situation.”

Separately, he referred to the Lebanese-Qatari relations, and assured that they have resumed normalcy.

For his part, Hariri stressed the need to tighten judicial rulings against the perpetrators of kidnappings.

Al-Joumhouria daily had reported that the LF would demand a “nonnegotiable” security plan to be placed in order to control what it described as “chaos.”

The LF was also expected to ask the Minister of Finance to move the remaining financial provision for the implementation of a waste-water treatment in Adma and Keserouan, which form a vital need for the area, according to the daily.

The LF was also supposed to raise the controversial file of the Costa Brava landfill by demanding the formation of a committee to follow-up on the implementation of the file, paving the way for the permanent closure of the site.