Lebanon urges parliamentary election preparations

The Lebanese cabinet on Tuesday urged the electoral committees to begin preparing for the parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on Nov. 16, four days before the end of the current parliament term, the National News Agency reported.
The report said that the cabinet, which held an extraordinary session chaired by Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail, approved the decree that confirm the election date after different political powers debated about the possibility of extending the term of the current parliament amid the ongoing presidential vacuum and cabinet's failure to agree on a new electoral law.
Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouk who was absent from Tuesday's session stated over the weekend that he had supported the move and it was up to the cabinet to approve it.
According to the constitution, the decree should be issued by the interior and finance ministers and the president of the republic.
But Lebanon, gripped by a political stalemate, has had a presidential vacuum since May 25, when the term of President Michel Suleiman ended. Since then the parliament has failed to elect a new president many times.
The current parliament extended on June 2013 its term until Nov. 2014, evoking security reason for not going ahead with the elections.