Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Judge Bassam Mawlawi, confirmed, in an exclusive interview with “Al-Hurra” TV Channel, hours before the start of the Lebanese expatriates’ voting process within the 2022 parliamentary elections, that “the elections are definitely occurring and all preparations have been completed in full,” adding that “the security forces are fully prepared and will not be reluctant to play their role.”
He added: “The amount that was allocated in the election budget was secured as a grant to the members and officers participating in the electoral process, and the problem of electricity on all Lebanese territories was addressed, whether in registration committees or in polling stations.”
Referring to what the Election Supervisory Board Head Nadim Abdel-Malik’s mentioned about paying bribes, Mawlawi considered this as “dangerous and must be documented.”
He added: “He must inform me as well as the Public Prosecution, which will act immediately…In fact, I have not personally received from any candidate a documented bribery complaint, nor did I receive any complaint from the supervisory authority.”
Referring to the complaint by MP Gebran Bassil to the Election Supervisory Board against the “Lebanese Forces” and the “Kataeb” parties regarding exceeding the financial ceilings for electoral spending in media and advertising, Mawlawi said: “The Supervisory Board did not inform me of anything.”
The Interior Minister continued to state that “the Election Supervisory Board began its work on January 15, 2022, and today we are in the month of May, and it did not appear to me that the Supervisory Board has taken any deterrent measure against any media outlet…I call on it to play its full role with decisions and measures, not only through the media, and if the issue calls for the intervention of the judiciary, then we shall render it with the judiciary, or with the Public Prosecution if the issue is related to bribery, or the Publications Court if it is related to media and advertising….”
“The Election Supervisory Board knows its role and must play it to the end, and we provide it with all the logistics, support and backing for everything it needs,” Mawlawi underlined.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon