Uncertainty surrounds Lebanon's municipal elections

Most officials' statements and eagerness to hold municipal and Mukhtar's elections may give the impression that the elections are inevitable.

However, according to the Interior Ministry's calendar, the scheduled dates are between May 7 and 28, over four Sundays.

We are less than a month away from the first Sunday, but there are five days of holiday during this period.

- Two days off for Easter for the sects that follow the Eastern calendar on Friday and Monday, April 14 and 17, respectively.
- Two days off for Eid al-Fitr on May 21 and 24.
- May 1st for Labor Day.

So, five days off out of 19 working days, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, which leaves only 14 days. Is it enough time to prepare for the elections?

On Wednesday, a joint committee meeting was held to discuss the proposal for the election financing law by opening a credit in the 2022 budget, submitted by MP Ali Hassan Khalil.

However, the government is still hesitant regarding accepting some proposals to use part of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) SDR's special drawing rights for this purpose.

Most of the political parties' stances show that they are ready to participate in the municipal and Mukhtar's elections, as demonstrated by the recent meeting of the executive bodies of the Amal and Hezbollah parties, which confirmed their readiness and alliance for this purpose.

Although the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) has previously announced its readiness for the elections, the phrase in MP Alain Aoun's statement carries some confusion when he said: "the movement supports it if the conditions and requirements are secured."

We will likely be in a confusing phase between the government and the parliament in the upcoming days regarding holding the elections or extending the current councils' terms.

Moreover, the outcome still needs to be clarified, according to parliamentary sources.

The joint committees will likely not agree on financing or postponing the elections. The proposed scenario is to refer the matter to the general authority that will assemble a quorum, and in the absence of objectors to holding legislative sessions under the council being an electoral body.

Furthermore, there are attempts to secure the quorum by involving the Strong Lebanon bloc, which requires any legislative session to be limited to urgent, necessary, and expedited matters.

As for extension, it may be for six months or a year. According to parliamentary sources, everyone wants it, but no one wants to be responsible for delaying it.