A meeting between several political parties was held late on Sunday at the Foreign Ministry in Beirut to tackle the thorny parliamentary electoral law in a bid to agree on a new format that meets approval of all political parties before the due date, LBCI said on Monday.

The meeting which was described as “positive” included Foreign Minister and Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil, representatives from al-Mustaqbal Movement, Hizbullah and AMAL, LBCI said.

Speaker Nabih Berri assured on Monday that approving the wage scale is a rightful people's demand which will eventually be approved, but stressed that efforts must first focus on agreeing an electoral law for the upcoming polls because it is more pressing, An Nahar daily reported.

Thousands of protesters flocked to the Riad al-Solh Square in downtown Beirut on Sunday to voice rejection of the new taxes that the parliament has approved as part of measures aimed at funding the long-stalled new wage scale.

Environment Minister Tarek Al-Khatib criticized the majoritarian 1960 parliamentary electoral law stressing that the entire political parties in Lebanon do not want it to rule the upcoming polls in May.

“ The 1960 law is very bad and all political parties reject it,” he said, adding “We won't accept a last moment 60's- like electoral law.”

After the Kataeb party was blamed for the parliament's failure to approve Lebanon's long-stalled wage scale file, the party's leader held a press conference on Friday and asked the authorities to take a serious decision to fight corruption and announced readiness to lift his own parliamentary immunity.

“You agreed beforehand to obstruct the session's quorum and lay the blame on the Kataeb,” said Gemayel referring to an adjourned parliamentary session that tackled the salary scale on Thursday.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat did not welcome a parliament's decision to impose a new batch of taxes to fund the wage scale, and has urged the government to put and end to corruption and to axe free travel entitlements for Lebanese ministers, deputies and military figures.

“Flight entitlements that are almost half-price for ministers, lawmakers on the Middle East Airlines must be stopped,” said Jumblat in a tweet on Friday.

President Michel Aoun announced on Friday that Lebanon is bearing the burden of the displaced Syrians on its territory which has amounted to more than half the number of its own population.

“No country in the entire world is capable of affording this along with the economic and security repercussions,” Aoun said, pointing out that the number of displaced Syrians have grown to more than %50 of the Lebanese population.

As the parliament continues to grapple over finding sources of funding for the long-awaited wage scale through the imposition of new taxes, political sources warned that tax hikes would set grounds for a “social revolution” in Lebanon, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

The parliament resumed its sessions on Thursday to discuss measures aimed at funding the thorny wage scale file, as Deputy Speaker Farid Makari warned lawmakers of his intention to reveal the names of deputies “he believes are stalling the approval of the salary scale during the parliament discussions.”

During the legislative session, lawmakers approved a raise on alcoholic beverages.

President Michel Aoun held a closed meeting on Thursday in the Vatican with Pope Francis after which the Pope announced that he plans to visit Lebanon pointing out that he always raises prayers for the country.

After the meeting, Aoun said: “Lebanon has a special part in the heart of the Pope. He will meet the invitation to visit the country of the Cedars.”