Report: Legislative Session Next Week Despite Christian Leaders Boycott
Speaker Nabih Berri insistence to hold a legislative session on the 12 and 13 of November to approve 38 items including financial draft laws have driven contacts between the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces who say could boycott the session, al-Hayat daily said.
FPM and the LF could possibly boycott the session over the exclusion of the electoral law proposal from the agenda, which the Speaker believes that it needs more time to be studied.
The Kataeb Party also refuses to attend the legislative session amid the presidential vacuum, reiterating the need to hold the session primarily to elect a head of state.
Parliamentary sources told the daily that Berri will not waver from holding a session despite the boycott of leading Christian parties because he believes that the “financial situation in Lebanon requires a parliament convention to cover mostly foreign loans and financial issues,” the daily added.
On Wednesday, Berri had called for general legislative sessions on November 12 and 13 to tackle and approve several draft laws listed on the agenda.
The country has not had legislative elections since 2009, with parliament meeting only to extend its own mandate twice.
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh held talks with Berri on Thursday where talks focused on the draft-laws on the upcoming legislative session's agenda, most notably those on money transfers from abroad and combating money-laundering.
Media reports in recent weeks have highlighted the threat of Lebanon losing its international grants and loans due to the paralysis of the parliament and cabinet, which is linked to political bickering.
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/193766 |