Lebanese parliament divided on funding municipal elections without a president

The meeting of the Bureau of the Lebanese Parliament, which was called for by President Nabih Berri next Monday, was canceled and replaced by a meeting of the joint committees. 

The purpose of the meeting was for President Berri to gauge the pulse of the members of parliament on who will attend and to discuss the legislative session agenda, which includes draft laws and proposals that come as a necessity, most notably the discussion of a proposal to open a financial allocation for the municipal elections.

The item that divided the parliament was how to finance and the constitutionality of the upcoming elections without a president.

President Berri believes securing funding for the elections should pass through a law via parliament. His political aide, MP Ali Hassan Khalil, has proposed a law to open a financial allocation to fund the municipal elections.

On the other hand, the Christian parties and the opposition disagree with President Berri's approach. 

Firstly, those parties still refuse to legislate as long as the parliament is an unelected body until a president is elected. 

Secondly, the Lebanese Forces party accuses President Berri of attempting to obstruct the municipal elections by putting obstacles in the way of funding them.  

Kataeb party also insists that securing the accreditation for the municipal elections does not require a legislative session, but the government can resort to Lebanon's Special Drawing Rights (SDR) and spend 7.4 million additional dollars for the expenses of the municipal elections.

Will the joint committee meeting on Monday pass without incident, or will the nature of the discussions and their results determine the fate of the call for a legislative session and the fate of the municipal elections? Only time will tell.