Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati during a meeting at the Grand Serail on Feb. 17, 2023. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called on the cabinet to convene Monday at 12 p.m. at the Grand Serail to "exclusively" discuss the issue of daylight savings, according to a press release from Mikati's office that was relayed by the state-run National News Agency on Sunday evening.
Mikati's decision, on Thursday, to postpone daylight saving time in Lebanon by one month was met with outrage from many politicians in the country, while several major local TV channels, media outlets, schools and archdioceses announced that they would not abide by the decision.
"In light of the recent developments in the country and their repercussions at all levels, the issue will be discussed by the cabinet," the statement said.
Some view Mikati's decision as confessional, saying that it was made in view of the impact it would have on the country's Muslim population during the month of Ramadan when many members of the faith fast from sunrise to sunset.
Mikati had canceled a previous meeting planned on Monday that was due to discuss the repercussions of the economic crisis on the public sector due to "some people's attempts to drag the country into a sectarian division to fuel conflicts," the premier said in a statement issued Saturday.
On Sunday night, caretaker Education Minister Abbas Halabi issued a statement saying Mikati had told him he would convene cabinet over the confusion caused by the time change decision, including regarding school schedules. Earlier Sunday, Halabi had said schools would follow summer time in defiance of Mikati's decision to not change the clocks. However, Sunday evening, after a discussion with the prime minister, the education minister backtracked and said he would leave the decision on time to those in charge of schools and public and private universities, and urged them to implement whatever decision is issued by the cabinet starting from Tuesday.