Fatfat Says Mustaqbal to Refrain from Submitting Candidacy Requests without Consensus

Al-Mustaqbal movement will not submit the candidacy of any lawmaker for the parliamentary elections prior an agreement among the parties affiliated in the March 14 alliance, lawmaker Ahmed Fatfat revealed on Monday.

“We will not take a unilateral decision in this regards,” Fatfat said in comments to Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5).

He pointed out that submitting the candidacy of MPs requires a consensus over the new electoral law.

Media reports said on Sunday that Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat and the members of his National Struggle Front parliamentary bloc will submit their candidacies for the parliamentary elections to the interior ministry on Tuesday.

The rival parties have so far failed to agree on an electoral draft-law. The resignation of Prime Minister Najib Miqati last week complicated the political crisis in Lebanon.

Fatfat reiterated that elections must be held on time, noting that if the opposition and March 8 majority-led by Hizbullah, failed to agree on an electoral law then polls could be postponed briefly.

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel has said that he would suggest a technical postponement of the parliamentary elections for three months amid a deadlock on the new cabinet and the vote law.

He said that the caretaker cabinet can supervise the elections if the rival parties were able to agree on a vote law before June 20 when the term of the legislature expires.