Interior Minister shifts responsibility to government for securing municipal election funding

At the Directorate of Political Affairs and Refugees, preparations for the upcoming municipal and elective elections are in full swing. Administratively, the Directorate has completed the arrangements, only lacking some logistics that are not funded by the UNDP due to their sensitive nature. The required amount to finance the elections is nine million US dollars.

Interior Minister Bassam Al-Mawlawi has absolved himself of any legal violations by inviting electoral bodies to hold the elections within the legal deadlines. According to the Ministry's schedule, elections will be held in the provinces of North Lebanon and Akkar on May 7, in Mount Lebanon on May 14, in Beirut, Bekaa, and Baalbek-Hermel on May 21, and in the South on May 28.

Al-Mawlawi thus puts the responsibility of securing funding on the government and the creation of an electoral atmosphere on politicians. Although he did not explicitly name any parties, he hinted at some individuals' intentions to postpone the elections. So far, the source of election funding, whether from Special Drawing Rights (SDR) or otherwise, has not been determined, and observers doubt that the elections will be held on time.

Historically, political forces have tried to avoid local elections, as alliances tend to be family-based even within a single party, unlike parliamentary elections where political affiliations prevail. Consequently, parties prefer to maintain the status quo rather than risk losing ground. Only progressive forces might benefit, as they have nothing to lose and could potentially cause a breakthrough.

According to observers, even those who publicly demand the holding of municipal and elective elections are merely posturing. In reality, the elections are not a priority for any faction at the moment.