Report: Electricity Plan Meeting Could Either Ease or Deepen Divisions

Lebanon’s Cabinet is scheduled to discuss and endorse an electricity plan on Monday amid fears that political parties fail to agree, “raising risks of a political crisis in the country,” al-Joumhouria daily reported.

According to informed sources, contacts have intensified in the past few hours in order to find a compromise solution on who would manage the tenders for companies.

Political parties are split over the issue where some want the bidding to be exclusively conducted by the Tenders Department of the Central Inspection Bureau, while others want the ministerial committee tasked with studying the plan to conduct it.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement of Hariri, the Free Patriotic Movement led by Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil want the ministerial committee (lead by PM Saad Hariri) to manage the plan in coordination with the World Bank.

On the other hand, AMAL Movement, Hizbullah, the Lebanese Forces, Progressive Socialist Party and the Marada Movement all want the plan to be managed by the Tenders Department.

According to Baabda sources, President Michel Aoun will speak at the beginning of the Cabinet session, “encouraging consensus on the plan,” they said.

Lebanese Forces Deputy PM Ghassan Hasbani told the daily: “We hope the Cabinet approves the plan today after the amendments made.”

Hizbullah Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mahmoud Qmati said: “A lot of time has been wasted, this file must be approved today. If an agreement fails, it would be necessary to vote. Lebanese have suffered a lot.”