Parliament to Convene Friday to Vote on Term Extension

A parliamentary session set to be held on Friday will include the extension of its mandate as an only article on its agenda.

Speaker Nabih Berri, who chaired on Wednesday a meeting for the parliament's bureau in Ain el-Tineh, called for a session on Friday at 3:00 p.m.

The a legislative meeting is set to only vote on the controversial extension of the parliament's tenure.

Lawmakers Michel Moussa, Serge Tor Sarkissian, Marwan Hamadeh, Ahmed Fatfat and Antoine Zahra attended the meeting in the absence of Deputy Speaker MP Farid Makari.

“The current situation in the country compelled the extension of the parliament's tenure,” Berri said later during Wednesday's parliamentary meeting with lawmakers.

He pointed out that the parliament’s term will be extended to Nov, 20 2014.

Despite a support to extend the parliament's mandate, the caretaker cabinet decided to hold the polls on June 16 under the 1960 law by forming the authority that would supervise the elections and allocating funds for the interior ministry to organize the event.

Major parties in both the March 8 and March 14 alliances have admitted that it was impossible to hold the elections on June 16 based on the 1960 law.

They are close to reach a deal on the extension of parliament’s four-year term that expires on June 20 but the dispute lies in the duration.