Opposition Used Veto for 1st Time at Cabinet
The opposition used its veto power for the first time at Saturday”s Cabinet meeting that focused on preparations for parliamentary elections.
The daily An Nahar on Sunday said the veto threat over the issue of setting up an election campaign supervisory committee prompted the majority of ministers to succumb to the opposition demand for adopting a name from the "expertise team" who is politically aligned with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and not a candidate chosen by Interior Minister Ziad Baroud which the law granted him the right to select.
It said ministerial sources were surprised that President Michel Suleiman did not resort to applying the principle of voting although the majority was available to "set the record straight."
The Cabinet formed an election campaign supervisory commission and announced that establishment of exchanged embassies and ambassadors with Syria will occur prior to the end of 2008.
Information Minister Tareq Mitri told reporters following the six-hour meeting that the Cabinet decided to form a commission for supervising the 2009 legislative election campaign. Ghassan Abu Alwan is to head the nine-member commission, Mitri said.
The commission did not include any members from the northern city of Tripoli, a matter that forced Economy and Trade Minister Mohammed Safadi to withdraw in protest against the exclusion.