Charbel: Fate of Candidacies Linked to Extension of Parliament's Term

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel has said that a law on the extension of parliament's four-year mandate should include an article on the recent announcement of candidacies based on the 1960 law.

“The extension law should give the candidate the choice of keeping his nomination or withdrawing his candidacy,” Charbel told As Safir newspaper published Tuesday.

His remark came when asked about the fate of around 706 candidates if the elections were postponed due to the extension of the legislature's mandate.

Speaker Nabih Berri is likely to call for a parliamentary session on Thursday to vote on an 18-month extension after the rival parties failed to agree on a new electoral law that would replace the 1960 law that is based on the winner-takes-all system.

Despite a support to extend the parliament's mandate, the caretaker cabinet decided to hold the polls on June 16 under the 1960 law by forming the authority that would supervise the elections and allocating funds for the interior ministry to organize the event.

Some parties are backing a six-month extension while others support a long-term 18-month extension.

Charbel told As Safir that if during that period the rival parties agreed on a new law, then the interior ministry would make a refund to the candidates because they had announced their nominations based on the 1960 law.