March 14: Miqati to Face Scandal if Electricity Bill’s Amendments Not Approved

The opposition March 14 forces said Premier Najib Miqati will face a “scandal” if the amendments proposed by their lawmakers to the electricity draft law were not approved.

High-ranking March 14 sources told An Nahar daily on Wednesday that the opposition is adamant to introduce the amendments to the bill to be in harmony with the original draft law that was approved by Miqati’s cabinet on Sept. 7.

If the amendments weren’t approved during a parliamentary session on Thursday, this would be a “scandal” for Miqati because it would be considered as an abandonment of the decisions taken by his government.

The cabinet approved the $1.2 project proposed by Energy Minister Jebran Bassil to generate 700 Megawatts of power on Sept. 7 and referred it to parliament for discussion.

A meeting of joint parliamentary committees to discuss the electricity project is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, the third such meeting since the cabinet referred the bill to the legislature.

Opposition sources expected the committees to approve the amendments of the March 14 lawmakers if the draft law was put up to vote. Twenty-two MPs would approve the amendments while 17 lawmakers form the March 8 forces would reject them, they said.

But the number of those who reject the changes could rise to 18 if MP Elie Aoun, who is a member of Walid Jumblat’s National Struggle Front, votes, the sources added.