Lebanon’s government stressed on Wednesday that it would make sure that the parliamentary elections, including the vote of expatriates, would be transparent, saying ambassadors and consuls will supervise the electoral process abroad. “All the means of transparency and monitoring are available…I hope that we will stop the questioning, which has no basis and no reason, and only harms the expatriate,” Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil told reporters on Wednesday following a Cabinet session chaired by Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Bassil added: "We are all responsible for this national achievement because for the first time the expatriates participate in the polls and they should not be swept in a cheap political debate.” When asked about reports saying the Foreign Ministry has leaked expatriates’ data, the minister said: “Not only the Foreign Ministry has this data, but some of it is also available at the Interior Ministry and with embassies and political parties.” Following the cabinet session, Information Minister Melhem Riachi said the government held discussions to protect the electoral process. “Both the Interior and Foreign ministers spoke on how to protect the elections and there is a determination by the Council of Ministers to monitor and protect the electoral process,” Riachi said. Interior Minister Nohad Mashnouk said there would be no problems with the expatriate vote as the boxes will be sealed with red wax and sent by DHL to Lebanon. “The delegates can be present at polling stations, although there is a lack of space. There will be cameras in all polling stations [abroad] to ensure that the voting process can be seen in Lebanon on the day of voting,” the minister said. For his part, Education Minister Marwan Hamadeh said the government discussed the transparency of the expatriate vote because, despite trusting the ambassadors, the diplomats cannot be in all polling stations. “The Interior Ministry cannot send observers to 140 stations. We prefer to send employees from Lebanon who have a connection with the electoral supervision body. These are among the problems facing this hybrid law,” he said.