Press round-up for Monday, February 22nd from the morning edition of Lebanon’s
An-Nahar, Al-Akhbar, As-Safir, and
Ad-Diyar newspapers.
Chehayeb to An-Nahar: Settling the issue of the displaced definitively requires a clear financial platform and 150 billion LL annually.
A majority is formed today in parliament regardless of political alignments.
The quorum is to be provided; abstention is to prevent lowering the voting age.
Today’s parliamentary session is supposed to be conclusive with regard to the fate of the constitutional amendment on lowering the voting age. All factors indicate that the draft law will probably not pass; however, the quorum will be secured.
Speaker Berri told An-Nahar, “As far as we are concerned, the draft law on lowering the voting age is still underway … In the end, every bloc or political orientation in parliament will be held responsible for the decision it makes.”
MP Ibrahim Kanaan told An-Nahar, “We have decided to attend the session so as not to hamper the quorum [of 86 MPs] and in order to prevent any future hampering. At the same time, we will abstain from voting to settle this issue.”
MP Sami Gemayel told An-Nahar that the Kataeb will abstain from voting for a simple reason, as “we would have wished for this draft not to be submitted now, since there are other equally important drafts and proposals, which are still forgotten.”
MP Georges Adwan told An-Nahar, “We will abstain from voting, since it is necessary for this draft to be linked to granting non-resident nationals the right to vote.”
MP Ammar Houri shed a light on the Future Movement’s position, saying, “We will attend the session … We will not vote against lowering the voting age, but at the same time, we will not vote for it, because the mechanism regarding the expatriates’ right to vote is still incomplete. Therefore, we will abstain from voting.”
The Democratic Gathering will reportedly hold a meeting this morning presided by MP Walid Jumblatt in order to settle its position on the draft constitutional amendment. According to sources, PSP MPs may vote in favor of the draft.
In an interview with An-Nahar, Minister Akram Chehayeb touched on the details of the issue of the displaced, saying, “The key to [resolving] this issue is neither political, nor social nor even security-related … If we truly want to close this issue, we need 150 billion LL annually.”
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali visited yesterday the border area of Wadi Vissan in the caza of Hermel, where the Jaafar clan offered him a land plot as the embassy’s summer residence in the high barren mountains of Akkar.
No matter what you say, you are not adults.
The session is still going to be held with no hope of lowering the voting age.
Parliament convenes today in light of divisions regarding the draft law on lowering the voting age. The vote will draw the outline of a new pattern in parliament, where March 14 forces and the Free Patriotic Movement are pitted against Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and the PSP.
Christians within the majority and the minority alike have a well-known position, i.e. they are not against the proposal, but they want to link it to a measure that paves the way for its adoption. The novelty, however, is in the Future Movement’s decision to abstain from voting.
MP Okab Sakr asserted to Al-Akhbar that the Future bloc MPs will attend today’s parliamentary session; however, they will abstain from voting out of respect for the Christians’ unanimous rejection of the draft.
PM Saad Hariri’s visit to Vatican City came to an end. Hariri told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera that Hezbollah has been part of the government since 2005, and Israeli officials are raising this issue now, because Israel “is preparing a pretext to wage war.”
Security tensions remained high in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp. The Taamir neighborhood neighboring the camp witnessed a partial population displacement following a limited field mobilization by Islamic militants against Fatah activists.
Berri washes his hands [of today’s session]; March 14 forces and Aoun abstain from voting; Jumblatt issues a fatwa for his MPs.
Parliament “lay to rest” the youth’s right to vote today.
In an interview with As-Safir, Speaker Nabih Berri said that “foiling [the adoption of] the draft law on lowering the voting age is, first and foremost, a condemnation of the parties that signed the law proposal and later recanted their signatures.”
MP Walid Jumblatt will not attend today’s parliamentary session and has reportedly instructed his party’s MPs to vote in favor of the draft, allowing the remaining Democratic Gathering MPs the freedom to vote as they please.
Jumblatt told As-Safir that this intentional difference between the positions of PSP and Democratic Gathering MPs aims “to take notice of our Christian brother’s historic sensitivity toward the demand to allow [Lebanese] residing abroad the right to vote.”
MP Ammar Houri told As-Safir that “Speaker Berri himself linked the law on lowering the voting age to the issue of granting the expatriates the right to vote. This is mentioned in the records of the March 2008 session.”
Houri quoted Speaker Berri as having said that “when this law is adopted, it will be implemented in the 2013 elections with regard to expatriates who wish to exercise their right to vote, and [that] any other issue, rightful though it may be, will lead to a national gap.”
Development and Liberation bloc circles accused MP Houri of selecting excerpts from Speaker Berri’s statement in such a way as to alter their true meaning.
Abstention on behalf of the Future Movement, the March 14 forces and Aoun prevent lowering the voting age today.
Berri to Ad-Diyar: We will vote in favor of the law, and let each party be responsible for its position.
Hezbollah: Reforms take precedence over the municipal elections.
All facts indicate that the two-thirds quorum will be met in today’s parliamentary session. However, according to the various positions that were expressed, the draft law on lowering the voting age will not obtain the 86 votes needed to pass the draft law.
Minister of State for Administrative Development Mohammad Fneish said that Hezbollah believes that [adopting] reforms takes precedence over [holding] of the municipal elections on time.
Hezbollah remarkably agrees with General Michel Aoun and MP Sleiman Franjieh on refusing to hold the elections based on the [current] law and on emphasizing the need for reforms, a position that contravenes with that of President Michel Sleiman.
The Council of Ministers will discuss this Saturday the final wording of the municipal electroal law. This issue may, however, be postponed to another subsequent session, which would make it impossible to organize these elections.