Names of nominees of the National Media Authority to the Council of Ministers

The Parliamentary Administration and Justice Committee submitted the names of the candidates for the membership of the National Media Authority to the Council of Ministers, to select three members from a list of fourteen candidates, who were elected by the bodies represented in the Authority. This decision came after extensive discussions on the appointment mechanism, with the aim of enhancing the independence of the Commission and ensuring the representation of civil society institutions.

The session, chaired by MP George Adwan and attended by Information Minister Paul Morcos and a number of deputies, witnessed a divergence of views on the method of selecting members. The Minister of Information insisted that the nominations come exclusively from civil society institutions, away from any official intervention, while other opinions suggested that the minister or the concerned unions take over the nominations.

After deliberations, the committee, by a majority vote, approved a mechanism whereby each entity represented in the authority elects two additional members alongside its elected representative. This results in a list of fourteen nominees being submitted to the Cabinet, which will then select three members from among them.

The committee also approved, during the session, the abolition of special courts dedicated to media-related violations, and postponed discussion of the proposed amendment to the citizenship restoration law to a later session due to time constraints.