The Constitutional Council rejected Friday the appeal presented by the Free Patriotic Movement against the law of extension of the Parliament's mandate "passed to prevent vacuum at the constitutional institutions."
In this context, the council stressed the importance of the following items:
- The regularity of the elections is a constitutional principle not to be violated
- Linking the parliamentary elections to the agreement over a new electoral law or any other condition is a violation to the Lebanese Constitution
- Exceptional measures must be limited to the period of exceptional circumstance
- The parliamentary elections must be held as soon as exceptional circumstances end, without waiting until the renewed mandate ends
- Obstructing the constitutional institutions, especially the presidency, is a blatant violation of the Constitution
On November 13, the Free Patriotic Movement challenged the decree extending the Parliament' term before the Constitutional Council.
Change and Reform bloc secretary and FPM member, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, presented the challenge, urging Lebanese citizens "not to lose faith in state institutions during the darkest times".
On Wednesday the 5th of November, Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to extend their mandate, skipping scheduled elections for the second consecutive time. They say Lebanon's security situation is too fragile to allow elections during neighboring Syria's civil war.
Rights groups worry that lawmakers are eroding the right to vote in a country with a tradition of free elections.