Lebanon's parliament on Monday postponed legislative elections, initially due to be held in May, by two years, according to a statement from the parliament speaker, due to the war between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah.
MPs convened on Monday including Mohammed Raad, head of Hezbollah's parliamentary “Loyalty to the Resistance” bloc, as Israeli warplanes flew above the nearby southern suburbs of Beirut.
According to local news portal Naharnet, 76 legislators supported the proposal, 41 voted against, and four abstained. Hezbollah’s 13-member bloc in parliament voted in favor of the extension.
The Christian Lebanese Forces party, the Kataeb (Lebanese Social Democratic “Phalangist” Party,) Michael Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement, and some change MPs voted against the extension. They argue that elections can be postponed until the war ends, but not necessarily for two years.
The ongoing war with Israel that began last week has already displaced over half a million people and made it difficult to hold a vote in large parts of the country. The parliamentary elections were set for May.
Lebanon rocked by Israeli strikes as Hezbollah joins Iran war
“Restoring stability"
Meanwhile the Lebanese Daily Star reports that President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam are preparing a plan aimed at restoring stability in the country, which involves "a nationwide deployment of the Lebanese Army to assert government control and implement state decisions,” and possible negotiations with Israel.
According to the newspaper, the initiative is expected to involve the United Nations, with Special Coordinator Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert mediating between the two sides.
(With newswires)
