The saga continues

The cabinet failed yesterday to elect the minimum five members needed for the Constitutional Council as talks collapsed over the appointment of the governors of Beirut and Mount Lebanon and the general director of political affairs in the interior ministry. Sleiman, according to Now Lebanon, stated that the completion of the Constitutional Council “will be discussed by the Council of Ministers in ten days’ time in an extraordinary meeting, if need be.”

Interestingly showing how international observers presence can have an affect on the local political process Defense Minister Elias al-Murr stressed the importance of appointing the governors of Beirut and Mount Lebanon “because the international monitors [for the elections] consider the vacancy of these positions to be a major problem for the organization of the elections,” according to As-Safir.

More worrying though is that while the political deadlock continues over ensuring the elections are run correctly reports of violence are occurring. The FPM claim, "an armed gang stormed an office of the Free Patriotic Movement in Mazboud," and reports that "two Future Movement banners were set on fire in Beirut using Molotov bombs early" this morning.