Lebanese Immigrants Complain Demanding Right to Participate in Elections
Lebanese embassies and consulates overseas received a lot of complaints from Lebanese immigrants demanding Lebanese passports allowing them to return this spring and participate in the country”s legislative elections.
The daily An-Nahar on Saturday quoted leading March 14 figures that accused the ministry of foreign affairs and general security of hindering the process of providing Lebanese overseas with passports.
Accusations by March 14 Forces focus on two points, that Lebanese immigrants were told they could begin to vote from overseas at the 2013 elections and not before, and second that those with an old and expired Lebanese passport will have to wait a while to get a new one.
The paper added that cabinet Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Wael Abou Faour, displayed his concerns against "an organized hindering process" preventing Lebanese immigrants from their right to vote.
Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, has affirmed he would follow up on the issue, while Interior Minister Ziad Baroud pointed that he would cooperate with Salloukh in a manner that would allow Lebanese immigrants to receive a red passport to vote.
Baroud said that the issue is the responsibility of Lebanese consulates that receive passport applications from overseas to later send them to general security in Beirut to process.