Mashnouq to Invite Electorates to Participate in Municipal Polls

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq is expected to issue a decree over the weekend calling on the electorate bodies to take part in the municipal elections, An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday.

Voter lists for the polls that are scheduled to start on May 8 were issued by the Interior Ministry last month.

Since then, administrative preparations are in full swing to hold the elections without any problems or delay, An Nahar said.

Lebanese officials have been confirming to diplomats that the polls will be held on time in four stages starting May 8, it added.

Holding the elections would give some impetus to the country's deadlocked political scene because the parliamentary elections were not held in 2014.

The 128-member parliament extended its term until June 2017 after the rival lawmakers failed to agree on a new electoral law.