The newspaper "Al-Liwa" writes: Two months before heading to the ballot boxes, the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) documented dozens of violations committed by candidates from parties and independents during the period between March 1 and 15, which is nearing its end in just a few days. Among its highly sensitive files on capital control, under the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), today in the parliamentary committees session, and tomorrow in the parliamentary session, there are also ongoing crises concerning fuel, wheat, and medicine, while eyes remain fixed on two judicial talks that are at the forefront before the scene ends: what will the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, do next Thursday, where a session has been set for him as a defendant in charges based on which his brother Rجا Salameh was arrested, and still is, and what will Judge Fadi Sawan do regarding the prosecution against the head of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea.
Political sources considered that the presidential team's insistence on using some judges close to it for political purposes and settling scores with political opponents, as has been happening in recent times, has increased suspicions about the judiciary's capability as a whole to bear the responsibilities placed on it during the upcoming parliamentary elections, which is a crucial responsibility concerning the integrity and accuracy of the entire electoral process results.
The sources stated that the presidential team, which oversees directing the judges affiliated with it to fabricate legal prosecution files, sometimes against the Governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh, and heads of some banks' boards, and previously against the file of Michel Maktouf's company and others who are not loyal to the presidency and its movement, has become transparently obvious in its intentions and goals, all of which aim to undermine the credibility of the judiciary and provoke as much political and public noise as possible to undermine its competence in carrying out the tasks assigned to oversee and adjudicate the results of the upcoming parliamentary elections. Consequently, this could lead to the postponement of parliamentary elections to a later date, which is what the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, seeks behind the scenes, having become certain that the results of the upcoming parliamentary elections will not be in his favor.
The sources expected that scenarios of fabricating files against the movement’s opponents would continue to unfold, increasing as the election date approaches, and the file against the head of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea, will not be the last but rather a part of this series.
**Government and Defense Council**
Governmentally, it was rumored that a cabinet session might be held next Wednesday at the Grand Serail, while ministerial sources indicated that some ministers have not yet been notified of any orders, with some expecting that the meeting will be moved to the Baabda Palace.
These sources also deemed that tomorrow’s parliamentary session might bring indications regarding the next session. They noted that a series of communications and meetings are ongoing this week, particularly concerning financial files, in addition to discussions with the IMF delegation in Beirut.
Additionally, it remains unknown whether the Higher Defense Council will hold a meeting this week, especially since the public mobilization period regarding COVID-19 ends at the end of this month.
Simultaneously, a new round of meetings will begin tomorrow with the IMF delegation to discuss what can be done and the foundations on which assistance can be offered to Lebanon to exit its crisis.
President Najib Mikati concluded his visit to Qatar yesterday, where he participated in the Qatar Energy Forum and had important meetings, notably with Qatari officials and foreign ministers from Gulf countries, from which very positive atmospheres emerged regarding the gradual return of relations to normal with Gulf countries, starting with the anticipated return of the ambassadors of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to Beirut. This week is expected to be a time to address some pending financial and judicial issues, whether through the cabinet session to which the governor of the Central Bank, Riad Salameh, has been invited or through the approval of the joint parliamentary committees during today’s session of the capital control project to ensure its inclusion on the legislative session’s agenda tomorrow, Tuesday.
**Mikati's Meetings**
Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the "Doha Forum" headquarters in the Qatari capital yesterday, where the relations between Lebanon and Qatar were discussed, in addition to Lebanon's relationship with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Prime Minister Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani also received President Mikati, where discussions focused on the situation in Lebanon and Lebanese-Qatari relations.
Information indicates that Mikati conveyed to the Emir of Qatar that the Qatari foreign minister will visit Beirut to personally assess Lebanon's needs.
This anticipated visit by the Qatari foreign minister to Lebanon aims to discuss the country's needs and may pave the way for restoring relations between Lebanon and Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, according to those close to Mikati.
After the two meetings, the Prime Minister held a press conference stating that Lebanon always needs such Arab support, and Qatar is alongside Lebanon, and God willing, all Arab countries and Gulf countries, in particular, will restore their normal relations with Lebanon, and we need this Arab embrace for our nation.
In response to a question, he said, "What happened in the past period was a passing summer cloud, and God willing, it will dissipate with the visits I will undertake to Arab countries and the restoration of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Gulf countries to their normal state. We need these relations, especially with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
Mikati also met the foreign ministers of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Kuwait's Ahmad Nasser Mohammed Al Sabah, and Oman’s Badr bin Mohammed Al Busaidi. The Kuwaiti minister hinted at the Gulf countries' welcome of the Lebanese official stance on the Kuwaiti-Arab initiative, especially regarding the two issues of "not allowing Lebanon to be a platform for any verbal or actual aggression or for anything that might jeopardize the security or stability of the region, and the responsibility of the Lebanese state and government in this regard."
The Kuwaiti minister said after the meeting: "I conveyed the greetings and welcome of Kuwait for the statement made by the President following our communication, as well as the Lebanese Cabinet's statement welcoming the Kuwaiti initiative and the ideas we conveyed on behalf of our brothers in the Gulf Cooperation Council and some Arab countries and the international community, within the frame of building trust with Lebanon again. I also conveyed the praise and commendation for the commitment expressed by the Prime Minister regarding the Lebanese government's adherence to the Kuwaiti paper, as well as Lebanon's commitment to international legitimacy resolutions and its responsiveness to them."
He added: "All of these elements, God willing, will lead to sustainable relationships again with Lebanon and its brotherly people based on mutual respect in all matters concerning brotherhood and cooperation between Lebanon and its Arab and regional surroundings in a way that serves Lebanon and the region's interests and prosperity."
Mikati received yesterday the Algerian Foreign Minister, Ramtane Lamamra, and discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries. The Prime Minister requested the Algerian minister to convey his wishes to the Algerian government to exempt Lebanon from the decision to ban the export of sugar as part of efforts to support Lebanon in facing the repercussions of the war in Ukraine.
He also met with the head of the Iranian delegation to the "Doha Forum," former Foreign Minister, and head of the Iranian Strategic Council for Foreign Relations, Kamal Kharrazi.
Mikati received the chairman and chief executive officer of French company Total, Patrick Pouyanné, and discussed with him the course of the agreement between Lebanon and Total for oil and gas exploration in block 9 in Lebanese territorial waters and the obstacles delaying the start of drilling. They also discussed Lebanon's decision to conduct a tender to solicit bids for the establishment of a gas liquefaction terminal in Zahrani.
**Lebanon and the IMF**
In terms of finance and legislation, a statement was issued by the office of Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Shami stating: "During the past week, meetings were held with the IMF that primarily focused on the draft law for 'capital control' to get the Fund's opinion and remarks, based on the request of several Members of Parliament. The project has been referred to the joint committees in Parliament for discussion on Monday and placed on the agenda for the parliamentary session on Tuesday."
He added: "During the week, the Deputy Prime Minister also summoned advisory meetings to discuss the outlines of the economic and financial recovery plan, on the basis of which negotiations with the IMF will be conducted. For this purpose, three meetings were held with representatives of depositors, the labor union, free professions syndicates, and a group of economists and financial experts along with representatives of economic entities and the Bank Association. These meetings were extremely useful and the observations and proposals presented during these meetings will be taken into account for discussion with the IMF mission that will begin its work in Beirut next week."
Head of the Finance Committee, MP Ibrahim Kanaan, tweeted: “The draft capital control circulating on social media ‘descended’ upon us as usual from outside the rules and has no connection to our proposal. We reject it as we reject any formula that does not protect depositors' rights and grants absolute powers to ‘the committee,’ including the government and the Central Bank instead of enshrining these rights in the body of the law.”
However, independent MP Nicolas Nahas expected that "the Parliament will approve the capital control law as the IMF contributed to its formulation.”
He confirmed: "This law will create the essential base to give the depositors their rights in these circumstances and will regulate their relationship with banks, allowing the economy to rebuild again."
The Parliament will once again discuss and study the capital control project in a session to be held tomorrow, Tuesday, after it became clear that the IMF would not agree to the recovery plan without passing this reform law.
Deputy Speaker Eli Franjieh announced that the joint committees will meet today to study the capital control project, noting that Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Shami has prepared a new version of the law that incorporates the IMF’s observations, and it is this that will be discussed in the committees.
The proposed text for the project aims for "restoring financial stability and the banks’ ability to survive, which are essential conditions for resuming financial operations; thus, it aims to introduce controls on foreign currency transfer operations in a transparent way to prevent further devaluation of the exchange rate, protect the foreign currency reserves of the central bank, restore liquidity in the banking sector, and protect depositors."
The "New Capital Control" includes a remarkable development in defining the reference for monetary decisions, suggesting the establishment of a special committee composed of the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Economy and Trade, and the Governor of the Central Bank, headed either by the Prime Minister or a minister appointed by him. This "committee" will be responsible for issuing the applicable regulations pertaining to this law regarding the plan to prohibit money transfers across borders and defining ceilings for cash accounts.
As for withdrawal restrictions, they permit withdrawing no more than one thousand US dollars per individual per month, whether in local currency or foreign currency, as determined by the "committee." Also, all local payments and transfers between residents and between residents and non-residents must be in Lebanese lira, except in instances specified by the special committee.
**Elections: Withdrawal of Candidates**
Regarding the elections, as the deadline for forming and officially registering lists approaches, the process of withdrawing candidacies of well-known political figures and some civil society candidates began due to their inability to form a list or join one of the lists. Among the most notable withdrawals were former MP and minister Assem Qansooh and former MP Ghassan Mikhaeil.
**Message from Allahiyan**
Diplomatic sources revealed that Iranian Foreign Minister Abdol Amir Allahiyan's visit to Lebanon carried with it a specific message from the Iranian leadership to Hezbollah, outlining the leadership's directions in the next phase, in light of the results of negotiations over the Iranian nuclear file, which tend to take a positive course in the coming weeks, as well as regarding the course of meetings between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which are advancing despite some disagreements requiring more time for understanding between the two sides.
The sources indicated that the Iranian foreign minister informed those he met from the party, away from the media, of a new phase for his country in dealing with regional files, including Lebanon, considering the current developments, a phase requiring a different approach and mechanism than before, taking into account regional and international changes, as well as a dialogue-oriented approach and anticipated agreements with active and neighboring countries.
The sources noted that Allahiyan's visit to Lebanon this time did not generate the political and media noise typically associated with such visits of Iranian officials. Instead, it was confined to public meetings with senior officials, while other meetings remained away from media clamor.
Politically and nationally, it was noted that the Foreign Ministry failed to condemn the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, while the Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Sheikh Abdul Latif Deryan, condemned in a statement the aggression against Saudi Arabia and the targeting of oil facilities in northern Jeddah. He stated, "The attack on Saudi Arabia by the Houthis is a description of crime that violates all international and humanitarian laws and norms; Saudi Arabia's security is part of the security and stability of the Arab region and the security of all Arabs and Muslims in the world," calling for "solidarity and standing alongside the land of the Two Holy Mosques against the terrorism faced by Gulf Arab states."
For its part, the "Future Movement" condemned in a statement "the persistence of the Iranian Houthi group in their attacks on Saudi territories." It regarded this Iranian persistence in committing criminal acts as an aggression that transcends targeting Saudi Arabia to threaten regional security and stability, as well as a cowardly assault on all Arabs who have grown weary of Iran's destructive arms, affirming their solidarity with the Kingdom in facing it and confronting any threats, regardless of the challenges and sacrifices involved.
Additionally, Minister of Interior and Municipalities Bassam Mawlawi tweeted: "Targeting the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a clear and direct terrorist attack on Arab legitimacy. We stand, as always, alongside the Kingdom in confronting the challenges to our shared Arab security and against any assault that undermines the sovereignty and security of the Kingdom in violation of international laws and treaties."
**Will the Fuel Crisis Ease Today?**
As for the daily concerns of citizens, while the dollar price rose during the weekend, nearing 25,000 Lebanese pounds, and after most gasoline stations closed their doors, the head of the Oil Importers Association, Maroun Shamas, announced the resolution of the gasoline crisis after reaching an agreement with the Ministry of Energy to issue a new price list today, Monday, that accommodates the demands of importers.
Chairman of the boards of "Coral" and "Liquigas," Oscar Yamin, indicated that "the amounts of fuel needed by the markets are available, and starting from the morning of Monday, deliveries to all regions of Lebanon will commence, which will lead to solving the crisis."
In turn, representative of the fuel distributors Fadi Abu Shakra commented on the fuel crisis, stating, "We hope that relief is near, and we hope the Minister of Energy will respond and issue the price schedule today, so that things can return to normal."
**290 New Cases**
In health news, the Ministry of Health announced in its daily report the registration of 290 new cases of COVID-19 and 6 deaths, raising the cumulative total to 1,090,782 proven laboratory-confirmed cases since February 21, 2020.
