Fenianos: Bassil Waging the Elections with Campaign Slogans

Public Works and Transportation Minister Youssef Fenianos criticized Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil's reactions after a ministerial panel turned down his vote law amendment proposal, saying the Minister is running his parliamentary campaign elections with “slogans,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Saturday.

“Bassil (who is also head of the Free Patriotic Movement) is waging his elections with slogans. Through the suggestions (amendments) he makes he is trying to picture a team that supports reforms and another against them. Even if he is told that his proposals are technically inapplicable, he accuses them of being against reforms. He refuses to take into account any observation made by any team,” Fenianos told the daily.

“The issue has been settled at the ministerial panel tasked with studying the implementation of the new electoral law, there is no time left to introduce any amendments,” he stressed.

Fenianos also said that Bassil “gives consideration only to what he wants,” pointing out that even when Bassil's (ally) Hizbullah tells him it is incapable of monitoring the voting process of expatriates outside Lebanon, he tells them “you approved before, why change your mind now?”

On Friday, Bassil said that he “has been defeated for the third time,” as a ministerial panel tasked with studying the implementation of the new electoral law said there is no time left to introduce any amendments.

“I have been defeated for the third time, and the Lebanese have lost the reforms with me,” said Bassil after the meeting.

“I lost in the face of a political decision to halt the reforms and the Lebanese have lost with me. This is a loss for the freedom of voters,” Bassil added.

The panel had met to discuss Bassil's proposal to extend the voting deadline for Lebanese immigrants living abroad.