MPs arrive at the UNESCO Palace for Tuesday's Parliament session. (Credit: Mohamed El Chamaa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Parliament on Tuesday approved several laws, including extending the term of the municipalities, a controversial building law and compensation for victims of the August 2021 Akkar fuel tank explosion, as well as funding for the upcoming parliamentary elections.
On March 4, the cabinet approved the postponement of municipal elections, blaming a lack of material and human resources. Parliament on Tuesday approved the decision and extended the municipalities’ term for an additional year. MP Oussama Saad (Popular Nasserite Organization/Saida) registered his objection saying that other than the parliamentary and municipal elections coinciding with each other in the same month, there was no legitimate excuse to postpone the municipal elections. Saad asked why the municipal elections could not just be postponed for two months instead.
A group of 31 civil society organizations, including the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections and the Legal Agenda, last week called on the government to “back down” on its decision to postpone municipal elections, and asked Parliament “not to accept this postponement.” Municipal elections were originally scheduled to take place in May 2022.
Parliament also approved allowing municipalities to give exceptional building permits. The law would double the allowable buildable surface area to up to 240 square meters in rural areas. Experts and critics warn that this amounts to an electoral bribe that would enable haphazard building, which they add would also negatively affect the environment. The law caused a lot of controversy during the session, with MPs from the the Progressive Socialist Party, Marada and Free Patriotic Movement objecting to the passing of the law, which gave rise to a recount in which the law ultimately passed with 44 votes given Parliament’s quorum of 76.
MP Hady Hobeiche (Future/Akkar) told L’Orient Today after the session that the law should help those needing to build homes and dismissed claims made by MP Estephan Dweihi (Marada/Zgharta), who claimed that the law would allow for informal construction on private property and municipal land.
Parliament also approved exceptional additional funding from the 2022 budget for the General Directorate for Political Affairs that is in charge of organizing elections. Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi did not respond to questions over funding the Supervisory Commission for the elections.
Parliament approved allocating a salary for the families of the victims of the Aug. 15 Tleil explosion in Akkar. The allocation is set at the same rate as for a soldier who has fallen in the line of duty. Moreover, those injured will receive 100 percent health coverage from the Health Ministry. However, the victims of the blast will not be considered martyrs in the same way the Aug. 4 victims were, and so are not entitled to health treatment at military hospitals.
The Parliament session kicked off with a vote in favor of approving an extension of the student dollar law to include students who began to study abroad before the academic year 2020-21. The law previously only applied to those who began studying abroad in 2019-20. Complaints were heard from some MPs about the several banks not fully complying with the law, which permits the transfer of up to $10,000 abroad per student at the official arate.
During the session, a bill presented by MP Bilal Abdallah (PSP/Chouf) supporting local production of medicines in Lebanon was voted into law. Industry Minister Georges Bouchikian told L’Orient Today after the session that the law should be able to fill the gap in the market, and allow for “all the vaccines needed” to be made in Lebanon.
The session ended at 1 p.m. after it lost quorum, with 19 out of a 30-item agenda discussed.