Municipal elections to be held under old law

The municipal elections are expected to be held based on the current law if they are to be held within the legal deadline next June, the head of the Administration and Justice parliamentary committee said on Monday.

“I said in the past that there is no time to discuss amendments or adopt reforms whether with regard to proportional representation or other issues; thus we cannot hold the elections based on the amended law,” said head of the committee MP Robert Ghanem .

“We also said that if parties wanted to hold the elections [on time] they can do it based on the current law which is effective,” he added.

Asked whether the elections would be postponed, Ghanem said that the issue was to be decided by the major parliamentary blocs.

“However, if it is necessary to postpone them, it would be for technical rather than political reasons,” Ghanem added.

Sleiman: Arab League behind peace process while Israel rejects reconciliation

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman said Monday that the Arab summit’s decision to keep the Arab peace initiative on the table indicated that Arabs have chosen permanent and comprehensive peace while Israel rejected this choice.

“The fact that the Arab summit in Libya has held to the Arab peace initiative indicates clearly the will of Arabs in achieving permanent and comprehensive peace.

“But the Israeli government rejects such a choice and goes on with building settlements and Judaizing occupied Jerusalem regardless of the will of the international community, which stresses the necessity of starting negotiations to place a peaceful settlement on the right track,” Sleiman said.

Sleiman highlighted the positive reconciliatory atmospheres that characterized the Arab summit, especially between Egypt and Syria, and which were complementary to previous reconciliations.

He added that all such efforts enhanced the relations between Arab states.

Concluding its works on Sunday, the Arab summit in Libya renewed support for the land for peace initiative with Israel, rejecting pressures from Syria and Libya on the Palestinians to abandon talks with Israel and resume armed resistance.

The Arab League firmly opposed Israeli plans for new 1,200 Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem.

Calls from Damascus and Tripoli to quit peace efforts reflected the depth of frustration and anger over the stalled peace process and continued Israeli construction in areas claimed by the Palestinians, particularly East Jerusalem.

They also revealed the deep division among Arabs over how to deal with the frozen Mideast talks. Arabs blame the sides’ failure to return to the negotiating table on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.