A group of 28 Lebanese opposition MPs have petitioned the Constitutional Council to annul newly endorsed amendments to the Criminal Procedures Law which were instituted at President Emile Lahoud’s insistence, reported the Daily Star on Monday.
The opposition has a vested interest in avoiding legislation that could legitimize government crackdowns similar to those seen in recent weeks.
The MPs submitted their challenge on Saturday, but an immediate ruling is unlikely, the paper said.
The petition is part of a campaign to reverse what opposition MPs consider an attempt to undermine Parliament’s authority by forcibly amending a law passed by an overwhelming majority less than three weeks earlier.
Some MPs, including Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, had openly admitted that they voted for the amendments against their convictions, indicating that they did not wish to lock horns with Lahoud, who had rejected the first version after it was endorsed on July 26.
The vote, taken on August 13, has been at the core of the recent political crisis between Lahoud and the opposition.
Despite recent attempts to initiate dialogue between opposition groups like the Qornet Shehwan Gathering and the president, the challenge may create renewed tensions between the two sides, since official sources have already dismissed the challenge as “a political move,” according to the paper.
Some 200 Christian anti-Syrian activists were arrested this month for opposing what they consider the undue influence of their Arab neighbor, which maintains thousands of troops on Lebanese soil - Albawaba.com
