The leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea at a press conference Wednesday accused the Foreign Ministry of “complicating” the voting procedure for Lebanese expatriates. He also said that he will propose to Parliament to strip confidence from Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on the basis of his performance in the role.
Here’s what we know:
• “A crime is committed against Lebanese expatriates. Instead of looking for ways to facilitate the vote, the Foreign Ministry is complicating it,” Geagea said. “The prime minister must ask the head of diplomacy to assign the voters to the polling stations closest to their homes,” he added. Geagea went on to announce that he is going to “propose a vote of confidence concerning the foreign affairs minister because of what he has done in the case of the expatriate vote.”
• The matter of the distribution of expatriate voters has been raised in recent days by the Lebanese living in Australia. Some voters there claim that they have been assigned to polling stations that are sometimes several hours away from their residence and that members of the same families are assigned to different polling stations. These issues could make it difficult, they say, for some voters to access their assigned polling center.
• The Foreign Ministry replied to the criticism in a statement Monday, saying that voters were geographically split according to the Australian postcodes as listed on the voter registration forms.
• Bou Habib is affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement led by Gebran Bassil. On Sunday, the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Joumblatt, accused Bassil of compromising the vote of Lebanese expatriates.