Fishermen cast their rods into the Mediterranean at sunset off the coast of Beirut. (Credit: Dylan Collins/AFP)
The Free Patriotic Movement announced Saturday it would file an appeal against amendments to the electoral law, including a change of date for the 2022 parliamentary elections, before the Constitutional Council. The day before, President Michel Aoun, who founded the FPM, said that amendments to the electoral law were now in effect despite his refusal to sign them. The amendments to the electoral law were approved for the second time by Parliament on Oct. 28, after Aoun had initially rejected them after the Oct. 19 session. Gebran Bassil, Aoun’s son-in-law and head of the FPM, strongly opposed the amendments. Aoun had refused to ratify them, sending the law back to Parliament on Oct. 22. Despite Aoun's rejection of the amendments, legal experts say they are able to pass because the second time legislators approve a law, it automatically goes into effect without a president's signature. The amendments include moving the date of elections from May 8 to March 27 of next year. Aoun has argued that the earlier elections date would face logistical difficulties due to winter weather and prevent thousands of voters who would reach the voting age of 21 between March 27 and May 8 of the chance to vote.
An Arab League delegation is set to visit Beirut today amid an escalating diplomatic row between Lebanon and Gulf countries. The delegation will be headed by Arab League Assistant Secretary General Hossam Zaki, Reuters reported on Saturday. So far Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have called on their citizens to leave Lebanon due to mounting tensions. Saudi Arabia on Oct. 29 announced that it was withdrawing its ambassador from Beirut and asked Lebanon’s envoy to leave Riyadh, after comments made by the Lebanese information minister criticizing Saudi Arabia's involvement in Yemen. The kingdom also said it was stopping all imports from Lebanon. Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE all recalled their envoys as well.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will deliver a speech on Thursday at 3 p.m. on the occasion of the party's martyrs' day. It has not yet been announced what topics Nasrallah will cover. The Hezbollah chief has yet to comment on the diplomatic rift with Saudi Arabia, which has expressed anger with the influence Iran-backed Hezbollah has on Lebanon. The speech will follow comments made by Hezbollah’s deputy chief Naim Qassem on Sunday calling on Saudi Arabia to “back down and apologize to the Lebanese people.” Nasrallah’s speech is scheduled to take place while Lebanon and Iran face off in a football World Cup 2022 qualifying match scheduled to kickoff at 2 p.m. in Saida.
United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Olivier De Schutter will hold a press conference on Friday morning, concluding his two-week visit to Lebanon. De Schutter arrived in Beirut last weekend for a two-week assessment on the Lebanese government’s response to the country’s crippling economic crisis, and the support international organizations have provided in trying to alleviate poverty. This week De Schutter is set to meet with Banque du Liban Gov. Riad Salameh and officials from the foreign, energy, education and economy ministries. According to UN figures, about three-quarters of Lebanon's population lives in poverty.
If there are no breakthroughs to the political impasses in Lebanon next week, Friday will mark one month since the cabinet has met. The government’s latest session on Oct. 12 was adjourned when ministers affiliated with the Amal Movement and Hezbollah demanded the cabinet take action regarding Judge Tarek Bitar’s investigation into the 2020 Beirut port explosion. Mikati has ruled out his government meeting before a solution is found to differences between its ministers. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states’ decision on Oct. 29 to cut diplomatic ties with Lebanon, following comments by Information Minister George Kurdahi on the Yemen war, has further complicated domestic politics. Mikati on Nov. 4 called on Kurdahi to “follow his conscience” and take steps to help repair ties with the Gulf states. The information minister, for his part, has said he refuses to resign, while Hezbollah has defended Kurdahi, who is affiliated with the Marada Movement