Beirut, Apr 19 (IANS): The Lebanese Parliament approved a bill to extend the mandate of municipal councils for up to one year, postponing their elections due to a lack of funding.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab stated that the extension was necessary due to public administration strikes and the failure to secure the required funding for holding the elections, reports Xinhua news agency.

He added that the aim of the extension was to avoid a vacuum on the municipal levels if the term of the current councils ends on May 31, without elections being held.

Municipal elections in Lebanon are held every six years, and the term of the municipal councils elected in 2016 was originally supposed to end in May 2022, but it was postponed to this year because it coincided with the parliamentary polls.

A total of 12,474 members from 1,055 municipal councils will have their mandate extended.

As the country faces a severe financial crisis, funding is considered a significant obstacle to holding the elections, which is estimated to cost around $12 million.

Lebanon has been in a presidential vacuum since October 31, 2022, when former president Michel Aoun's term came to an end, as different parliamentary blocs have failed to elect a new president due to political divisions.