The Lebanese government has intervened in a row over the voting rights of the country's diaspora and submitted an urgent bill to Parliament that would allow citizens living abroad to vote for all 128 MPs rather than only six.
The move adds to pressure on powerful Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who has so far resisted efforts by a majority of MPs to overturn this provision.
The current electoral law allows Lebanese living abroad to cast votes only for a newly created bloc of six MPs, as opposed to all 128 seats. The law was passed in 2017 but the parliamentary election due in May next year is the first in which this provision will be applied.
Detractors say it treats the diaspora as second-class citizens and breaches the policy of equality enshrined in the Lebanese constitution.
In theory, the government's bill to amend the law should be added to the parliament's agenda for debate and a vote, which it is expected to pass. But it is uncertain whether Mr Berri, who supports the law in its current form, will allow that.
One minister observed wryly that there was a difference between “information and expectations”, alluding to the fact that, while the government sent the bill to parliament and Mr Berri should, in principle, add it to the agenda, it does not mean he will.
“We've sent a draft law saying that this election has to be conducted as it has been conducted in 2022 – that is, the diaspora will vote for 128 seats,” the minister told The National.
After a cabinet session on Thursday that approved the bill, Information Minister Paul Morcos said the government had also decided to extend the deadline for the diaspora to vote from November 20 to December 31.
Hezbollah and its Shiite ally, the Amal Movement led by Mr Berri, support the law in its current form. Their four ministers in the government have opposed any amendment, but are in the minority.
Hezbollah has been placed under sanctions by many countries that are home to large parts of the Lebanese diaspora – including in North America, Europe and the Gulf.
Hezbollah spokesman Youssef Zein previously told The National that this means the group is unable to campaign as effectively abroad as its opponents.
“It's a draft bill submitted by the government, it supersedes everything. It should be taken to the vote,” said an official from the Lebanese Forces (LF) party, which supports overturning the law.
One of the party's four members in the cabinet, Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, drafted the amendment bill.
“Now we wait for Speaker Berri,” the LF official said. “He may delay this for one week, et cetera, but other than that he cannot do this. And once it reaches the vote, it will have an easy majority because it was proposed by more than 67 MPs initially.”
The dispute over the voting rights of the Lebanese diaspora escalated last week when Parliament was unable to convene after more than half the MPs boycotted the plenary session.
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
South Africa's T20 squad
Duminy (c), Behardien, Dala, De Villiers, Hendricks, Jonker, Klaasen (wkt), Miller, Morris, Paterson, Phangiso, Phehlukwayo, Shamsi, Smuts.
Shipping%20and%20banking%20
%3Cp%3EThe%20sixth%20sanctions%20package%20will%20also%20see%20European%20insurers%20banned%20from%20covering%20Russian%20shipping%2C%20more%20individuals%20added%20to%20the%20EU's%20sanctions%20list%20and%20Russia's%20Sberbank%20cut%20off%20from%20international%20payments%20system%20Swift.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Five%20calorie-packed%20Ramadan%20drinks
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERooh%20Afza%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20contains%20414%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETang%20orange%20drink%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%20300%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECarob%20beverage%20mix%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%20about%20300%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQamar%20Al%20Din%20apricot%20drink%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20saving%20contains%2061%20calories%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EVimto%20fruit%20squash%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E100ml%20serving%20contains%2030%20calories%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Rankings
ATP: 1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 10,955 pts; 2. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 8,320; 3. Alexander Zverev (GER) 6,475 ( 1); 5. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 5,060 ( 1); 6. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4,845 ( 1); 6. Roger Federer (SUI) 4,600 (-3); 7. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 4,110 ( 2); 8. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 3,960; 9. John Isner (USA) 3,155 ( 1); 10. Marin Cilic (CRO) 3,140 (-3)
WTA: 1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 7,030 pts ( 3); 2. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6,290 ( 4); 3. Simona Halep (ROM) 5,582 (-2); 4. Sloane Stephens (USA) 5,307 ( 1); 5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,100 ( 3); 6. Angelique Kerber (GER) 4,965 (-4); 7. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4,940; 8. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,430 ( 1); 9. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 3,566 (-6); 10. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3,485 ( 1)
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