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TIME CHANGE

Lebanon will officially shift to summer time overnight Wednesday to Thursday

"We need a 48-hour delay to settle some technical matters," before shifting to daylight savings time, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati explains in a press conference. 

Lebanon will officially shift to summer time overnight Wednesday to Thursday

A Church's clock tower (front) next to the Grand Serail in Beirut displays summer time on March 27, 2023. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)

Lebanon will "officially" shift to daylight saving time overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said at a press conference at the Grand Serail on Monday after chairing a cabinet meeting “exclusively” dedicated to the issue.

The announcement overturns a decision reached late last week, following a discussion between Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, to postpone the change to summer time for one month. The move to delay the time change took the country by surprise and resulted in confusion, mockery, criticism and allegations of sectarianism as the decision coincided with the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

Speaking during a press conference, Mikati said the cabinet meeting was "calm."

"After each minister gave his opinion on the issue, the [cabinet] decided to maintain winter time for the time being and switch to summer time on Wednesday night," he announced. "We need a 48-hour delay to settle some technical matters."

“Continuing to work in winter time until the end of the month of Ramadan, about which I consulted with the Parliament speaker was preceded by intensive meetings over a period of months, with the participation of ministers and stakeholders," Mikati continued. "This decision was aimed at resting those fasting during the month of Ramadan for an hour without causing any harm to any other Lebanese component.” 

Read more:

Postponement of daylight savings time sparks mockery and religious tension

Mikati said he regretted the fact that "some have considered this decision a challenge and have given it a dimension I would never have considered ... I did not make a confessional or sectarian decision."

The caretaker prime minister blamed the confessional spin of the decision on "the political elite that agreed to reject all presidential candidates."

"Let's be clear. The main problem is not the summer or winter time, which would have been extended for only a month, but the vacancy in the [presidency]," said Mikati. "As caretaker prime minister, I do not take responsibility for this vacancy."

He instead blamed the "parliamentary groups" that forced a loss of quorum on each of the eleven failed parliamentary presidential electoral sessions.

Mikati further called on all parties to "assume their national responsibilities ... to elect a new president and form a new government without delay." 

The reversal back to summer time follows a decision by several media outlets, archdioceses, schools and institutions across different sectors to refuse to follow the government's announced postponement of the time change.

The controversy deepened on Sunday when many politicians, officials and residents voiced their opposition to the decision.


Lebanon will "officially" shift to daylight saving time overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said at a press conference at the Grand Serail on Monday after chairing a cabinet meeting “exclusively” dedicated to the issue.The announcement overturns a decision reached late last week, following a discussion between Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri,...