Mustaqbal: Govt. Must Help Speed up Efforts to Elect New President

The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc noted on Thursday the “maturity” demonstrated by the government in confronting the various challenges facing Lebanon, namely the vacuum in the presidency.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “The government must play a role in speeding up the process of electing a president.”

The bloc noted however that the cabinet must not neglect its duties in administering state affairs.

“These duties are stipulated in constitutional articles and the government should go ahead and continue on tackling the people's concerns,” it explained.

“The challenges facing the cabinet obligate all sides to stay clear from incitement and instead focus on the country and people's concerns,” said the Mustaqbal bloc.

“The success of the government so far demonstrates the maturity of the political parties and their ability to adapt to various developments,” it added.

The bloc also hailed the Interior Ministry for its recent decision to control the flow of Syrian refugees into Lebanon.

The Interior Ministry announced on Saturday that Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations should not to return home as of June 1, warning they will lose their refugee status in Lebanon.

The measure was taken three days before Syrian presidential elections.

Commenting on the elections and the voting of Syrians in Lebanon, the Mustaqbal bloc questioned the “insistence of the remnants of the Syrian security regime in Lebanon on repeating the boring scenarios through exploitation and threat of Hizbullah's arms to pressure and intimidate the refugees.”

“The murderous regime will not succeed in re-establishing its legitimacy that has been toppled after the resounding crimes committed by it,” it stated.

Syrian expatriates streamed to their embassy in Yarze on Wednesday to vote in a controversial presidential elections, contrary to Lebanese elections that are usually held on weekends, which triggered suffocating traffic congestion, jamming work bound Lebanese citizens in their cars.

The March 14 alliance strongly criticized the elections at the embassy, calling for dropping the refugee status of those whose life is not in danger and who are constantly traveling across the border.

Of the estimated three million Syrians living abroad, including both refugees and peacetime residents, only around 200,000 were entitled to vote on Wednesday, in 39 embassies abroad, a foreign ministry source said in Damascus.

M.T.

H.K.