Abou Faour: Parliamentary Elections Won't Be Held Any Time soon

Health Minister Wael Abou Faour revealed that discussions are underway over extending the term of parliament for a second time, reported An Nahar daily on Saturday.

He told the daily: “It does not seem that the parliamentary elections will be held any time soon.”

The Progressive Socialist Party official said however that the party supports holding elections on time, “everyone knows though that there are no possibilities to stage them.”

An Nahar noted however that efforts have been underway recently to hold the parliamentary elections.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq is leaning towards calling the electoral bodies to stage the polls before November 20, it added.

In May 2013, parliament voted to extend its term, consequently postponing parliamentary elections that were scheduled for June of that same year.

Both pro- and anti-Syrian blocs, except for the Change and Reform bloc, agreed to the 17-month extension, which was prompted by deteriorating security conditions related to Syria's turmoil and lawmakers' failure to agree on a parliamentary electoral law.

The decision marked the first time that parliament has had to extend its term since the country's own 15-year civil war ended in 1990 and underlines the growing turmoil in Lebanon spilling over from the conflict in its neighbor.