BEIRUT: Parliament will hold a general session on May 31 to decide on whether to extend the mandate of the legislature. 

Parliament’s Secretariat agreed during a meeting that the extension of the legislature would be the sole item on the agenda for the Friday session, which will begin at 3 p.m.

 

Political sources told The Daily Star Tuesday that the rival March 8 and March 14 camps are close to a deal on extending Parliament’s mandate after MPs failed following months of talks to agree on a new electoral law to govern the 2013 parliamentary elections.

 

While the March 14 coalition wants a 15-month extension, Speaker Nabih Berri, backed by Hezbollah and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt, are pushing for an 18-month extension.

 

Berri reiterated Wednesday that Parliament’s mandate needed to be extended in light of the deteriorating situation in the country. 

“The exceptional, compelling security situation is the primary reason for the [need] for the extension, particularly given that what we are witnessing does not offer freedom either for the electorate or the candidate,” visitors to Berri quoted the speaker as saying. 

“Therefore, [fair] parliamentary elections cannot be held in the country,” he added. 

The Cabinet endorsed Monday holding the general elections on June 16 under the 1960 law, approving the formation of an elections supervisory committee and allocating funds for preparing for the polls. 

Lawmakers from MP Michel Aoun’s parliamentary bloc will not attend Friday's session, caretaker Energy Minister Gebran Bassil told a local newspaper.

 

“We will go beyond voting against the extension: we will boycott the session altogether,” Bassil told As-Safir newspaper.