Bou Saab says municipal vote 'impossible' after joint committees session

Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab announced Wednesday, after a joint committees session, that "it has become impossible to stage the municipal elections," as he blamed the government for failing to secure the needed funds.

Joint parliamentary committees convened Wednesday to discuss funding the municipal elections, while caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi and caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil failed to attend the session.

Bou Saab told reporters before the session that Mawlawi's absence "is not a good sign."

"He should have been here today to give us answers about the polls' funding," he said. "We got the answer from his absence."

Mawlawi had urged the government to secure the necessary funds and complete the administrative preparations for the elections that are supposed to start on May 7.

"Mawalwi's representative said that the ministry couldn't get the needed funds," Bou Saab said, adding that he will submit a draft law for extending the municipalities' term by 4 months.

Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan said that the bloc's MPs will not attend a session that would extend the municipalities' term. "We refuse to attend any legislative sessions amid a presidential void," he added.

Progressive Socialist Party MP Wael Abu Faour said before the session that there is no "political decision" to hold the municipal elections. "The PSP MPs want the municipal elections and this will be our stance in the joint committees session," he said. "The vote can happen despite the difficulties, all we need is a political decision."

The Lebanese Forces party has accused the Free Patriotic Movement and the Hezbollah-led camp of obstructing the municipal polls.

The MPs want the elections, Bou Saab said, blaming the government for not securing the funds.