The Zahrani power plant (South Lebanon) is one of two managed by Primesouth Lebanon. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)
Several parliamentary groups, including the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces (LF) announced they will boycott today's Parliament session. The boycotts mean that the simple majority quorum needed to hold the legislative session will be at risk. "The Lebanese Forces will submit an appeal regarding this [session's decisions] and those of any session held in light of the presidential vacuum," LF MP Fadi Karam said. In May, the Constitutional Council rejected a similar appeal by the Lebanese Forces and other parties to a law extending municipal councils' mandates during a session boycotted by the party. Several parliamentary groups have boycotted previous parliamentary sessions to signal their dissatisfaction with legislating during the presidential vacuum. Under the Lebanese Constitution, Parliament is meant to serve solely as an electoral body during periods of presidential vacuum, rather than a legislative assembly. The caretaker Cabinet is also scheduled to meet today to discuss granting permission to TideWater Marine Fleet LLC to enter Lebanese waters to begin drilling as well as UNHCR data concerning Syrian refugees residing in Lebanon.
The caretaker Cabinet yesterday approved the 2023 draft budget law and is set to begin reviewing next year's budget by the end of this month, caretaker Information Minister Ziad Makari said. Following yesterday's meeting, Makari indicated that the projected deficit was revised upwards to 23.57 percent (of total public expenditure), compared with 18.79 percent in the preliminary draft, without, however, explaining the reasons for the increase. The government also approved LL10 trillion in credit for the 2023 budget, despite it still being a draft. The budget must still make it past Parliament, which is expected to receive the text after it is finalized by the Finance Ministry and reviewed by the parliamentary finance and budget committee. The process of voting on the 2023 budget should have been completed by the end of January but faced delays amid broader political deadlock in Lebanon.
Primesouth Lebanon, the operator of Lebanon’s two largest power plants, yesterday began shutting down Deir Ammar and Zahrani over unpaid payments from state electricity provider Electricité du Liban (EDL). The Energy Ministry was in negotiations with Prime South until late last night, but a spokesperson for the Ministry had no update by the morning. In 2022, delayed government payments led to a similar halt by Primesouth, which was resolved hours later after the funds were transferred. In January, electricity generation resumed in Deir Ammar and Zahrani after a multi-week shutdown due to fuel shortages. Since then, EDL has increased its tariffs to finance fuel purchasing, increased its coverage and launched a plan to remove encroachments on its network. The hiked tariffs, however, led thousands of households to unsubscribe from EDL, as many of them already have to pay for costly private generator subscriptions — necessary to compensate for gaps in EDL coverage.
Caretaker Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada announced that he signed a bill that could triple prison time for people convicted of "the promotion of sexual perversion," an allusion to LGBTQ+ relationships. The bill’s first article punishes “any act that favors, explicitly or implicitly, sexual relations against nature, or that encourages or incites them" with a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine of LL500 million. Over the weekend, Mortada spoke against MPs petitioning to revoke Article 534 of the Lebanese penal code, which prohibits “unnatural” relations and has been used to penalize LGBTQ+ people. On Tuesday, MP Adib Abdel Massih announced he had decided to withdraw his signature from the bill, citing his religious convictions. The bill also penalizes “any act which promotes the possibility of changing sex or publishes information aimed at minors which makes them want to change their sex or sexual orientation.” The bill signed by Mortada still has to be approved by the government before being sent to Parliament to be voted on by the General Assembly.
The drilling rig chartered to explore Lebanon’s offshore oil and gas Block 9 “arrived at the drilling point” yesterday and is expected to begin operations by the end of this month, French energy giant TotalEnergies said. Caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad said that Lebanese authorities "will know the results of the drilling and exploration in two or three months." TotalEnergies is one third of a consortium with Italy's ENI and QatarEnergy with drilling rights for Block 9. An indirect agreement between Lebanon and Israel on their shared maritime border signed last October paved the way for the exploration of the offshore block.
The United States announced a series of sanctions against Green Without Borders (GWB), a Lebanese environmental NGO accused of providing "support to and cover" for Hezbollah's activities in southern Lebanon. The sanctions also target GWB leader Zuhair Subhi Nahla, who, according to the US, acknowledged that the association's role was "providing a wall to protect” Hezbollah. Israel referenced the NGO last month amid complaints regarding tents allegedly set up by Hezbollah beyond Lebanon's borders. Also on Wednesday, UNIFIL head of mission Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lazaro expressed concern over tensions along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Israel and unidentified parties in South Lebanon exchanged artillery fire last month shortly after the Israeli annexation of the northern part of the village of Ghajar, placed by the UN-drawn border within Lebanese territory.
In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from yesterday: “The Kahaleh road bend: A historic war site”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz