Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaking after a meeting with President Aoun in August 2021. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
BEIRUT — Prime Minister Najib Mikati assured on Wednesday that his government “will eliminate anything that could threaten to block the legislative elections” from taking place on May 15. Doubts about whether elections will be held surfaced last week after state electricity provider Electricité du Liban set the electricity tariff at a rate exceeding the electoral budget for the utility.
Here’s what we know:
• Last Friday, EDL said it would provide $16 million worth of electricity during the legislative elections, which is a 30 percent overrun of the electoral budget for powering the polls. However, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi has insisted the government is working to ensure that the legislative elections go ahead as planned, adding that he is looking for alternatives to EDL, such as private generators to ensure electricity supply.
• “We will eliminate anything that could threaten to block the elections,” the prime minister told al-Joumhouria newspaper. “At the same time, the government is pursuing the execution of its program with diligence and firmness, aware of the scale of the crises that the country is going through and deploying its efforts to resolve them.”