BEIRUT: Education Minister Elias Bou Saab Sunday denied rumors of his alleged disruption of the formation of the Election Supervisory Committee during the Cabinet’s session Thursday, arguing that a two-day delay in the appointment of the committee doesn’t make a difference.
The Election Supervisory Committee, which was supposed to be formed on Aug. 8, is already 25 days late, Bou Saab said, arguing that it didn’t make a difference if it wasn’t assigned two days ago.
The education minister rejected claims that the Free Patriotic Movement disrupted the formation of the ESC, after reports said Thursday that Bou Saab was one of the only ministers who challenged the decisions after Cabinet had agreed to issue a decree calling for the formation of the committee.
An-Nahar reported Saturday that the decree to form ESC was not published in the Official Gazette Friday despite the fact that it was the deadline for its issue.
According to An-Nahar, Bou Saab’s did not sign the decree after he opposed some of the names appointed to the committee. The sources said such a development raises the possibility of an extension to Parliament’s mandate.
The sources said Bou Saab, representing the Free Patriotic Movement in the Cabinet, rejected Maronite, Orthodox and Greek Catholic names appointed to the committee. Prime Minister Tammam Salam asked him to choose different names but Bou Saab said that he could not do that.
“I am correcting the point that was brought up by the media so that people don’t think that some want parliamentary elections while others don’t,” Bou Saab said during a opening of a local high school in Bsharri Sunday.
The FPM has submitted its candidates, and it is normal for the Cabinet to delay the formation of the council said Bou Saab, denying rumors that the party’s insistence on changing certain candidates was behind the delay.
The ESC, which is essential to holding the polls, was set to be appointed during Cabinet’s Thursday session; however disagreement between Cabinet members delayed the move.
According to the current election law, the committee should be formed once the period of submitting candidacies begins.
Last month, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said that nominations would be accepted from Aug. 28 to Sept. 16 by 11:59 p.m.
The establishment of the ESC is the responsibility of the government because it requires it to allocate funds, while the interior minister has the power to call for elections.
Parliamentary sources said that the ESC item could be postponed if no agreement was reached among Cabinet parties.
The issue will be negotiated between the ministers and the prime minister, who is keen on consensus and understanding, the education minister said.
So far, Speaker Nabih Berri’s Development and Liberation bloc and Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement have submitted their candidate lists. Saad Hariri’s Future Bloc is set to announce its nominations Monday, with Hezbollah, the Lebanese Forces and the Democratic Gathering following suit.
Parliament extended its term for 17 months in May 2013, citing deteriorating security.
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