Lebanon parliament extends its own mandate for two years as war intensifies

DUBAI, March 9 (Reuters) - Lebanon’s parliament extended its own mandate for two years on Monday, a statement from the speaker's office said, pushing back elections that were meant to take place in May of this year.

The office of parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri said 76 lawmakers of the 128-seat body had voted in favour of the extension. The vote came a week after Lebanon was dragged into the regional war by militant group Hezbollah's launch of rockets and drones into Israel, which has responded with heavy bombardment across the country.

Lebanon last held parliamentary elections in 2022 and had been considering an extension of the current body's mandate before the latest round of fighting erupted between Hezbollah and Israel.

Lawmakers have taken similar measures in the past. The parliament elected in 2009 voted to extend its own mandate until 2017, citing security concerns linked to the war that was then raging in neighbouring Syria.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elimam and Jana Choukeir; Editing by Maya Gebeily)