U.S. Embassy: Constitutional Council Should Consider and Rule on Challenges without Political Interference
Lebanon's Constitutional Council “should consider and rule on the challenges before it without political interference,” the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon said on Wednesday, after lack of quorum prevented for a second day in a row a ruling by the council on petitions filed against the extension of parliament's mandate.
“Boycott of Constitutional Council further erodes Lebanon’s democracy and reflects lack of respect for Lebanon’s institutions and the rule of law,” the embassy said on Twitter.
“Lebanon’s democracy is a linchpin of stability (and) efforts to undermine (the) democratic process shake stability and international confidence in Lebanon,” the embassy warned.
Three judges boycotted a meeting of the Constitutional Council on Wednesday, depriving the 10-member body of the quorum needed to rule on the challenges.
Despite the boycott, the present members agreed to hold open-ended meetings starting Tuesday to rule on the challenges against the legislature's 17-month extension.
The judges, two Shiites and a Druze, had on Wednesday also failed to attend the meeting that was aimed at discussing a report drafted by the council's president, Judge Issam Suleiman, on the petitions filed by President Michel Suleiman and the Change and Reform bloc earlier this month to challenge the extension of parliament’s four-year term.
Lawmakers extended their mandate end of May by pushing the parliamentary elections to November 2014.
The move came as a result of the failure of the rival parties to agree on a new law to govern the polls and amid the rejection of the implementation of the 1960 law that was used in the 2009 elections.
Speaker Nabih Berri described the boycott as an attempt to prevent strife.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/86673 |