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Lebanon: We received appeals against 40 elected MPs

The Lebanese Constitutional Council yesterday announced that it has received appeals against the legality of the election of 40 MPs of the 128 appointed in the recent elections.

Head of the Constitutional Council Issam Suleiman said in a press conference in Beirut that the appeal “does not invalidate the election result. The elected candidate is considered an MP and can exercise all his rights since the announcement of the election’s result.”

At the same time, he pointed out that the Constitutional Council is ruling on the validity of the complaints and may revoke the appointment of some MPs.

He stressed that the Constitutional Council is holding an “investigation into the validity of the elections because of their importance in expressing the people’s sincere will of choosing their representatives.”

Suleiman pledged to deal with the filed appeals with the highest degree of seriousness and responsibility. He pointed out that the Council is waiting for the report which is being set by the Electoral Supervisory Authority.

“We will expand investigations to the largest extent in order to reveal the truth, verify the information and violations included in the appeals, and determine their impact on the announced results.”

He explained that the adopted rule in the courts and the constitutional councils in the investigations of the validity of the elections consists of determining the size of the violations and their impact on the results. It is not permissible to invalidate the deputation of an elected MP unless there are serious reasons that require invalidation, he added.

Parliamentary elections were held on May in 15 electoral districts. Some 128 MPs were appointed.