The majority of Lebanese deputies are still waiting for the 2024 budget law, which was approved by the Lebanese Parliament after three days of drawn-out disputes more than a week ago, to be referred to the Council of Ministers, which in turn sends it for publication in the Official Gazette, to become effective.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, a number of representatives noted that many of the articles in the general budget were based on “random” voting and decisions, leading to confusion across many sectors and triggering strikes in objection to the budget’s inclusion of taxes.
A member of the Strong Republic bloc, MP George Okais, pointed out that the “delay in publishing the budget in the Official Gazette resulted from lack of clarity in the final version of the texts.”
“There is confusion in dealing with two articles pertaining to banking and subsidies, which were introduced and not discussed in the Finance and Budget Committee,” he said.
Okais pointed to an “unprecedented randomness in legislation,” considering that the last budget parliament session has witnessed the “worst” form of legislation since 2018.
The Forces of Change MP, Paula Yacoubian, considered that it was necessary to “review the internal regulations of the entire Parliament.”
She told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Unfortunately, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is confusing his person and his powers as Speaker of the Parliament with the powers assigned to the parliament... But what is more dangerous is that there may be tampering with what was approved in the budget... This is a new and additional blow to the democratic system, and a confiscation of the votes of representatives.”
Last week, Lebanon's parliament passed an amended budget for 2024 that experts said neglected to include crucial reforms that would help the country emerge from a financial meltdown that has gutted the public sector for nearly five years.
The draft was passed late on Friday after several heated exchanges in parliament's chamber with caretaker premier Najib Mikati, highlighting the deep divisions that have paralyzed Lebanese politics and prolonged a more than year-long vacuum at the presidency.
