Caretaker Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi emphasized on Thursday the necessity of holding municipal elections in accordance with the law and constitutional deadlines.
“The budget this year allocated funding for those elections, which was not available in the previous year,” noted Mawlawi in an interview with the daily “Al Joumhouria.”
Parliament postponed the municipal elections last year due to a lack of budget.
When asked about whether the elections might be deferred due to the war in southern Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel, he said, “The decision rests solely with Parliament,” hoping that the situation will calm down so that “we can hold municipal elections on time and across all Lebanese territories.”
He assured that the “Ministry of Interior is committed, like last year, to calling the electoral bodies on time and determining the dates for holding the polls… thus, it is ready.”
Regarding the possibility of holding the elections in specific regions or municipalities, taking into account that some had their municipal councils disbanded, Mawlawi said, “This possibility exists in the sense that the law allows the Minister of Interior to conduct municipal elections in some areas and postpone them in others for security, logistics, or any other compelling or urgent reason.”
