Kataeb Lawmaker Selim Sayegh said that the extension of municipal council terms indicated that the country is operating without a President, without a constitution, and institutions, governed by de facto rule. 

He suggested that the Christian role historically allocated to Christians and Lebanon has come to an end, leading to an imbalance and posing a grave threat to the future.

"Bypassing the constitutional requirement stipulating that the country's president must be Maronite is like bypassing an entire sect that played a pivotal role in establishing the concept of Greater Lebanon," Sayegh said in an interview with MTV.

"Therefore, anyone claiming to preserve partnership while practicing exclusion and marginalization is seeking a fundamental alteration of the system to prevent the presidency from returning to the Maronites. If it does return, it should be merely symbolic," he went on saying.

"Yesterday's parliamentary session was a continuation of the obstructionist approach, lack of balance, and the institutions' disruption," he noted.

"Today, Hezbollah is largely isolated from the Lebanese political scene and will be further exposed in the upcoming municipal elections, indicating a clear shift in public opinion," he affirmed.

Sayegh pointed out that on February 27, 2024, Israel held municipal elections amidst airstrikes and drone attacks, with participation below 35%.

"It adopted exceptional measures in certain areas and now has municipal councils where neither Hamas nor Hezbollah can disrupt enemy operations. So why does the system allow Israel today to impede democracy in Lebanon and give it the right to veto the election process through its drones over the heads of the Lebanese people?" he asked.

He clarified that 30% of municipalities are dissolved, with 14% having submitted resignations and unable to function, yet the Ministry of Interior has not addressed these resignations.

"Municipalities lack financial resources. Today's extension will apply universally, thus we have applied negative equality instead of positive equality," he explained.

Regarding the Kataeb party's non-participation in yesterday's session, he responded: "The extension received 71 votes, so why would we participate in a matter that was pre-cooked and ensured a quorum beforehand?" 

Sayegh considered that the technical postponement could have been carried out by the Minister of Interior through a decision that does not require a law.

Regarding the Syrian Refugee Crisis, he said: "Our position has been clear, and we are not the ones to blame but others. Our conscience is clear, and we have approached Russia, Washington, and others, urging the international community to make decisions."

Regarding his meeting with Prime Minister Mikati, Sayegh explained: "The Prime Minister mentioned that there are one billion dollars that will arrive in Lebanon for the Lebanese to address the Syrian refugee crisis, and there are 184 million dollars that were supposed to be given to Syrians in Lebanon, but Mikati refused and said it should be given to them in Syria."

"French President Emmanuel Macron and the European Union promised they would provide incentives to Syrians to return to Syria," the Kataeb Lawmaker emphasized.

"Mikati spoke with his Syrian counterpart two days ago about the 2500 Syrian detainees in Lebanese prisons who must return to Syria, despite the Lebanese-Syrian Coordination Agreement prohibiting this," he added.

"There are European programs to monitor the spending of these funds, based on which the environment in Lebanon will be able to address the burden of this crisis," he said.

 "Lebanon should be given more than a billion dollars, which should be allocated to Lebanese municipalities for oversight and the purpose of repatriating the refugees. We must return to the directives issued by the Ministry of Interior to manage this file, and if we don't obtain funds, how can the Lebanese army carry out its duties on the border?" he asked.

Regarding the presidential elections, the Kataeb Lawmaker said: "We are in favor of seeking a consensus president. However, does this represent Hezbollah's opinion? Hezbollah always emphasizes that its sole candidate is Marada Movement Leader Sleiman Frangieh. Therefore, we want to know whom we are negotiating with, and Berri's position is evolving. Thus, we are facing his effectiveness for days or several hours, so how can we be comfortable?" 

"When the Shiite duo says they are leaning towards a consensus president, it means abandoning their support for Sleiman Frangieh, and that is when we would be taking a serious step in the right direction," Sayegh concluded.