MP Ali Hassan Khalil commented on Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s remarks regarding the electoral law and expatriates voting for all 128 MPs.
He said: “I am surprised by the statement of Prime Minster Nawaf Salam on the electoral law, particularly his claim that suspending the 16th district would allow expatriates to vote for the 128 MPs. The person who heads the government, especially coming from a judicial background, is expected to be more committed to respecting the applicable legal texts rather than interpreting them politically. A law is not suspended by a statement, nor amended by interpretation, nor are its provisions altered by political will. A legal text does not cease to have effect or change its consequences except through another law issued in accordance with constitutional procedures. Any reading that contradicts this undermines the principle of legality and the duty of the executive authority to apply the law as it is, not as one wishes it to be.”
He said: “I am surprised by the statement of Prime Minster Nawaf Salam on the electoral law, particularly his claim that suspending the 16th district would allow expatriates to vote for the 128 MPs. The person who heads the government, especially coming from a judicial background, is expected to be more committed to respecting the applicable legal texts rather than interpreting them politically. A law is not suspended by a statement, nor amended by interpretation, nor are its provisions altered by political will. A legal text does not cease to have effect or change its consequences except through another law issued in accordance with constitutional procedures. Any reading that contradicts this undermines the principle of legality and the duty of the executive authority to apply the law as it is, not as one wishes it to be.”
