After 76 sessions and nearly 200 hours of work, Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel announced that the draft law on decentralization is practically finalized and now only awaits political will for its adoption.
Speaking at the third Tajaddod Lel Watan participatory conference, titled “Decentralization: The Time Has Come,” Gemayel urged Parliament to assume its responsibility and push the reform forward.
He stressed that decentralization would allow each Lebanese region to develop its own plans independently of the central government, shifting sectarian competition for power toward local competition focused on improving citizens' lives.
Gemayel recalled that all political parties had participated in drafting the text, which is now almost complete, and insisted that Parliament must act. He stated, “We have a historic opportunity to deliver real reform. Let's not leave it as just a conference topic.”
Highlighting the need for three levels of governance (municipality, region and central government), he explained the proposed mechanism: directly elected local councils, administrative and financial autonomy and fair redistribution of resources to achieve balanced development across all regions.
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