Miqati: Elections Cannot Possibly Be Held on Time

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed the importance of the parliamentary elections for Lebanon as a “symbol of democracy in the region,” reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat Wednesday.

He told the daily: “Despite their importance, it would be impossible to hold them as scheduled on June 16 … but I do not think the delay will be too long.”

He explained that technical difficulties will undoubtedly delay the polls, as well as the failure to reach an agreement over a new electoral law.

“It would be impossible to hold them in less than two months,” he remarked.

Miqati noted that when he was premier in 2005, he was capable of staging the parliamentary elections with a two-month technical delay.

On discussions on a new electoral law, he told the daily: “Perhaps all sides want the elections to be held, but lawmakers are proposing laws that only suit their interests.”

Commenting on the government's policy of disassociation from regional developments, Miqati said: “Maintaining Lebanon's stability was our main purpose during this difficult time and some violations were recorded.”

“The policy was respected when I was prime minister, except for a few minor violations, and no one had the boldness to announce their involvement in Syria as they are doing now,” he stressed.

Hizbullah chief Sayyad Hassan Nasrallah stated on Tuesday that the party had been taking part in the fighting Syria, saying that members were defending Lebanese border regions from attacks from Syria.

He also said that fighters are defending holy places in the country, explaining: “Armed groups are only hundreds of meters away from the Sayyeda Zainab shrine and Takfirist groups launched clear threats on the Internet that they will destroy the shrine should they enter the area."

“We pride ourselves in our martyrs, especially in those who fell in recent days, and we are holding public funerals‬,” Nasrallah declared.

Commenting on his trip to France where held talks with a number of French officials, including Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Miqati said that the talks focused mainly on the situation in Syria.

An informed French source said that the caretaker premier had stressed to the officials the need to support the Lebanese army during the critical phase the region is passing through.

Fabius reiterated on Monday his country's support for Lebanon's policy of disassociation towards Syria's conflict, vowing to provide aid in hosting the Syrian refugees.