Report: Sami Gemayel Suggests Opposition MPs to Pay Expenses of Hotel Stay
Phalange Party MP Sami Gemayel suggested that the March 14 opposition lawmakers pay the fees of their stay at a hotel near the parliament to attend the parliamentary subcommittee meetings aimed at discussing the new electoral draft law.
Informed sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper on Monday that Gemayel argues that the parliament lacks the required budget to cover the expenses of the opposition MPs' stay at the hotel.
“The Lebanese shouldn't carry yet another burden when they lack their simplest rights,” sources quoted Gemayel as saying.
He pointed out that “those who fear over their lives should pay the expenses, in particular, if they need around 10 days” to wrap up the meetings of the subcommittee.
The electoral subcommittee will convene on January 8 to discuss the electoral law during a one-week timeframe although Speaker Nabih Berri said he was willing to extend its meetings if the MPs were serious about reaching a deal.
After a boycott of dialogue sessions and parliamentary work in the past couple of months, March 14 lawmakers have accepted Berri's proposal of residing in a hotel near the parliament in downtown Beirut, as a safety precaution, to attend the meetings of the subcommittee.
The opposition alliance had announced following the assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau head Maj. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan on October 19 that it will be boycotting the national dialogue sessions and government-related parliamentary work, awaiting Prime Minister Najib Miqati's resignation.
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