March 14 Says Parliament Term Extension is Not a Rule
The March 14 alliance's general-secretariat said Wednesday that the extension of parliament's mandate for two years and seven months should not be taken as a principle.
“The extension taking place in institutions can't become a rule. The principle lies in respecting the state and its institutions and swiftly electing a president and approving a new electoral law that would lead to holding the polls,” the general-secretariat said following its weekly meeting.
Last week, 95 MPs voted to extend their mandate till June 2017. The vote gave the 128-member parliament eight full years in power— double its allowed mandate.
The majority of the March 14 coalition’s lawmakers were in favor of the vote while only the Kataeb party MPs from the alliance boycotted the session, in a move similar to the Free Patriotic Movement lawmakers from the March 8 camp.
“The relative stability that Lebanon is witnessing compared to the events surrounding it … can't remain the same unless we preserve the institutions and avoid vacuum,” said the conferees.
Lebanon has been without a head of state since May because the rival MPs failed to agree on a successor to President Michel Suleiman whose term ended in May.
But the lawmakers, who voted in favor of the law, claimed they need to extend their own term because the security situation is too dire to allow holding elections.
They also said extending parliament's mandate will prevent another power vacuum.
“The functioning of the institutions is linked to state building, starting with the election of a president capable of preserving the unity of such institutions and of committing to the constitution and international resolutions,” the statement said.
It also slammed Hizbullah for causing the proliferation of arms in Lebanon and for establishing a mini-state “that leads to aggression on the law and civil peace.”
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