Nayla Assaf
Daily Star staff

The Qornet Shehwan Gathering opposition group Tuesday demanded the Cabinet’s resignation if it did not relieve Interior Minister Elias Murr from office after his performance in overseeing the controversial parliamentary by-election in Metn.
The group was meeting for the first time since the June 2 poll, which saw Gabriel Murr ­ backed by some Qornet Shehwan members ­ win the seat.
Although Qornet Shehwan members backed different candidates ­ Gabriel Murr and Ghassan Mokheiber ­ the group said it was united after the victory, which it said had helped boost the vitality of the country’s political life.
The group also endorsed the opposition’s alliance with groups not represented in the gathering, a reference to the Free Patriotic Movement of Michel Aoun and followers of the disbanded Lebanese Forces.
“The positions of these forces and personalities had a positive impact, and prevented the nature of the election battle from being altered, as well as forcing the recognition of the results as they appeared in the ballot boxes,” said a statement by the group.
“The gathering is also surprised by the attempts to cast doubt on the power of the opposition and split the Qornet Shehwan Gathering, which is proud to have come out of this experience more united and representative of the hopes and aspirations of the Lebanese than ever before,” it continued.
But the gathering saved its harshest words for the interior minister, saying the Cabinet should remove him from office “to preserve the sanctity of the law and state institutions.”
“If the Cabinet fails to hold accountable the interior minister, it should resign,” the group said, accusing Murr and his father Metn MP Michel Murr of using state bodies to pressure voters prior to the elections.
It also said they had pressured vote tabulation committees to change the poll results, and rejected Myrna Murr’s withdrawal from the race a week after election day, calling it “yet another attempt to ignore the actual election results.”
Among those in attendance were MPs Butros Harb, Nassib Lahoud, Fares Soueid, Nayla Mouawad, Mansour Bone, Antonie Ghanem, and Salah Honein; National Bloc leader Carlos Edde, Elias Abu Assi on behalf of the National Liberal Party, An-Nahar general manager Gebran Tueni, former Ambassador Simon Karam, Samir Franjieh, former MP Nadim Salem, and university professor Farid Khazen.
Earlier, Metn MP Nassib Lahoud reiterated his opposition to the government’s endorsement of Gabriel Murr’s victory only after Murr’s niece had withdrawn.
Speaking to reporters following a visit to Bkirki, Lahoud, who was accompanied by Qornet Shehwan members and former MPs Nadim Salem and Camille Ziade, said the visit was meant to express “our rejection of a victory based on a settlement, because we believe that Gabriel Murr won through figures, based on laws and legitimacy.”
Lahoud said the victory, which the opposition has claimed was secure on the night after the vote, “should be used to close the book on the civil war, support democracy and implement a new electoral law leading to better representation.”
The Metn MP said that the electoral victory should also be used to “defend public liberties and find the right solutions to economic problems.”
Lahoud admitted that he had “made a move” toward President Emile Lahoud, alluding to his visit to Baabda Palace earlier this week, but said he had nothing to do with the compromise that allowed Gabriel Murr to win after Myrna Murr’s withdrawal.
“We have nothing to do with such a settlement,” he said.

Committee to rework election law

Justice Minister Samir Jisr said Tuesday he had formed a committee of constitutional experts to rework the election law, after a vote-counting debacle in the recent Metn by-election.
Jisr said the new committee’s goals would involve “reviewing the role” and “accurately defining the tasks” of the Higher Vote Tabulation Committee, which is staffed by judges.
The tabulation committee was involved in a fiasco that saw different reports issued on the vote counts, due to mistakes in tabulation and questions over the prerogative to decide on how to tabulate votes in the event of technical irregularities.
Jisr appointed Said Adra, who presides over a civil appeals court, to head the committee, as well as Albert Serhal, Antoine Baridi and Zuheir Shukr. Shukr is a constitutional expert, Serhal is an adviser to the Shura Council and Baridi a member of the government’s Consultation and Legislation Committee.

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