BEIRUT – The Lebanese parliament voted on Thursday to hold legislative elections on March 27, confirming an earlier vote last week that had been challenged by President Michel Aoun, Reuters reported.
The body originally voted on Oct. 19 to hold the election at that time but President Aoun sent the law back for reconsideration on Friday.
The vote passed on Thursday by 77 MPs but some, including members of Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), who have been against the earlier date, expressed concern around whether quorum was achieved for a second vote regarding the voting of Lebanese living abroad
The elections were originally expected in May.
The March 27 election date would give Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s government only a few months to try to secure an IMF recovery plan amid a deepening economic meltdown.
