Anti-Extension Protesters Issue Symbolic Verdict Preventing 'Illegitimate ex-MPs' from Entering Parliament

Dozens of protesters rallied for the second consecutive day on Friday to denounce the extension of parliament's term, after the Constitutional Council failed to rule on the filed challenges due to the absence of three of its members.

In a statement issued by a coalition of civil society groups and activists, the demonstrators said “the accused – the speaker and members of parliament – have usurped power and prevented the Constitutional Council from practicing its authority.”

“The accused have tried to cover up for their continuous crimes of obstructing state institutions, undermining judicial authority, terrorizing the media, making deals under the table, discriminating against women and the disabled, weakening social security institutions, harming the environment and inciting sectarian sentiments,” the statement said.

And as the protesters noted that “the acts of the speaker and the MPs represent crimes punishable under the constitution,” they issued a “unanimous” symbolic verdict accusing “the speaker and the MPs of the 2009 parliament of usurping power and preventing them from entering parliament.”

They called on citizens to “consider the 2009 MPs as former illegitimate lawmakers and to raise their voices against them during any rally they organize and not to implement any laws issued by their illegitimate parliament.”

Protesters also urged citizens to take part in a demonstration organized by the civil society movement on Friday at the Riad al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut.

During the sit-in, some protesters tried to remove the barber wire surrounding Nejmeh Square which houses parliament's building, which resulted in a scuffle with security forces who prevented them from advancing.

“We will not stop until you leave” and “Go home,” read some of the banners carried by the protesters.

Around 7:30 p.m., protesters started dismantling tents they had erected on Thursday evening, promising to stage a demonstration every Friday and noting that they suspended their sit-in in order not to “exhaust the participants.”

On Thursday, hundreds of citizens and civil society activists demonstrated in rejection of the extension, as security forces prevented them several times from crossing the barriers into Nejmeh Square.

Riot police several times tried to push protesters away from the square as demonstrators hurled plastic water bottles on them amid appeals from the organizers to keep the protest peaceful.

Ninety-seven out of 128 MPs had voted in favor of extending parliament's term as three judges of the 10-member Constitutional Council have failed to attend four sessions so far, depriving the council of the needed quorum to rule on challenges.

On Friday, parliament's extended 17-month term entered into force as the Council failed to meet to issue a ruling on petitions filed by President Michel Suleiman and the Change and Reform bloc against the extension.