Outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati during yesterday's parliamentary session. (Credit: Nabil Ismail)
After a bill was passed in Parliament on Tuesday, the terms of municipal councils and mukhtars has officially been extended until May 31, 2024. The result of a meeting that was held out of “necessity”, the bill is the result of a broad political agreement reached behind the scenes last week to postpone the poll as long as possible.
Beyond the decision itself, the session laid bare all of the involved players , who had practically been passing the “hot potato” between each other before cooking up the face-saving “solution.”
The meeting revealed that some political parties were in favor of delaying the elections. Despite publicly declaring that they wanted the election to be held, the last thing they seem to need is a “new popularity contest” that would not end in their favor.
This is of course the case of the Free Patriotic Movement. After having aborted the holding of parliament sessions dedicated to enact laws during the presidential vacancy, the FPM has chosen its camp: it has sided with Hezbollah, the Amal movement and their satellites to ensure the needed quorum for the session that was primarily aimed at postponing the local elections. The FPM sided with Hezbollah and Amal despite their deep differences over the presidential election.
It was FPM aligned Deputy Parliament speaker Elias Bou Saab, who initiated the process of delaying local elections by submitting a draft law extending the term of municipal councils by four months.
On the other hand, yesterday’s discussions brought to light the caretaker cabinet’s inability to organize the local elections within the deadlines set by the caretaker Interior Minister, Bassam Mawlawi. Many MPs verbally attacked the cabinet, accusing it of “lying to the Lebanese” and “failing in its duty.”
But in a tense political context, it is clear that caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati did not want to bear the consequences of an unpopular decision alone. He therefore opted to settle for a deferral that would benefit from Parliament support.
He ultimately underscored that the decision is of strictly technical nature and left it up to the cabinet to set new dates. Mikati responded by suggesting new dates for the poll without skipping a beat.
The atmosphere of the Parliament session was tense.. As expected, the 73 MPs who attended the session endorsed the draft law which was drafted on Thursday during the parliament’s bureau meeting.
“The ball is now in the court of the prime minister. It is up to him to hold the election once the obstacles are overcome,” said MP Ghassan Atallah (FPM\ Chouf) to L’Orient-Le Jour.
Atallah took part in a searing verbal exchange between Mikati and many of the MPs present. It all started when Oussama Saad, MP for Saida, took the floor and accused the cabinet of “lying to the Lebanese by showing readiness to hold the municipal elections,” said an MP who declined to be named.
The MP added that Bou Saab even proposed to withdraw his draft law if the cabinet was willing to hold the local elections. “Najib Mikati seemed baffled,” said an MP. Mikati’s response to Saad was this: “You are all lying to the Lebanese. You do not want the municipal [elections].”
Mikati counterattacks
After sharp exchange with several MPs, Mikati acknowledged that the cabinet is unable to organize the elections within the timeframe set by Mawlawi. Speaking at the end of the session, Mikati proposed to hold the elections on May 21 and 28, before trying to dismiss the accusations against his cabinet.
“If the parliament votes to extend the terms of municipal councils, we will be committed to holding the election as soon as possible,” he said. Then, he attacked the FPM: “Had you wanted the municipal [elections], you would not have ensured that there is a quorum for this session that aims to adjourn them,” he said.
Gebran Bassil clarified this point to the press at the end of the session in a bid to resolve the ambiguity around his position. Speaking to the press, he gave priority to the presidential election, which he has been blocking on the orders of Hezbollah by preventing quorum.
“We took part in this session for one purpose only: to avoid the vacancy in the municipalities and among the mukhtars. We cannot add a municipal vacancy to the presidential and government vacancies,” he said.
“Whoever criticizes us for our presence is indulging in one-upmanship after having participated between 2014 and 2016 in sessions under the sign of the legislation of necessity,” said the FPM leader, in a dig at his rival, Lebanese Forces (LF) Leader Samir Geagea.
The latter had admitted having “made a mistake” in participating in parliamentary sessions before the election of Michel Aoun. Claiming to have learned the lessons of the past, the LF boycotted yesterday’s meeting, along with the Kataeb and the protest movement MPs.
The Grand Serail
A few hours later, the cabinet met in the afternoon at the Grand Serail. Far from simply endorsing the parliament’s approach, Mikati took the opportunity to show that he is serious about the municipal elections.
At the opening of the session, he highlighted the role of the cabinet in financing the poll, a task he was initially reluctant to do. He had thrown the ball in the parliament’s court.
“We are concerned with the financing of the elections,” he said, urging the caretaker interior minister to meet with relevant officials to “put in place a study on the new dates, which would be discussed at the next cabinet meeting.” Mikati responded to all those who accused him of not having finalized the logistical preparations for the municipal elections.
This prompted Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri during the parliamentary session to blame Mikati for having “tricked” him by pressing for a vote in Parliament to postpone the elections.
This article was originally published in French in L'orient-Le Jour. Translation by Joelle El Khoury.