Parliament Bureau fails to discuss possibility of holding legislative session

A Parliament Bureau meeting that was supposed to discuss the possibility of holding a legislative session was on Monday postponed to a date that would be announced later, Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab said.

"While stressing parliament's right to legislate as happened in the past, the capital control format that was issued by the Joint Committees must be accompanied by a comprehensive plan. Accordingly, it has been decided to postpone Parliament Bureau's meeting to a later date," Bou Saab added after meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri.

The Bureau had held a first meeting last Monday without managing to agree on the session's agenda.

Al-Akhbar newspaper meanwhile reported that the session in question was still being rejected by a “parliamentary majority that is withholding quorum” and a “Christian majority that is stripping it of conformity to the National Pact.”

Quoting informed sources, the daily added that Berri had last week discussed the Free Patriotic Movement’s declared boycott with MP Alain Aoun, asking him whether the stance was related to the entire agenda or to a specific agenda item.

“Aoun told Berri that the FPM is refusing participation because it does not see that there are extraordinary items that require holding a session that falls under the legislation of necessity label, and because the FPM believes that the priority is for the election of a new president, a point that enjoys Christian unanimity over it,” the sources added.

Extending the term of General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim is one of the most notable items on the proposed agenda. Ibrahim’s term expires on March 3.