BEIRUT: The joint parliamentary committees
resumed discussion Tuesday of various draft electoral laws amid sharp divisions
among the parties over the proposals.
Opinions mostly varied with regards to whether
an electoral law based on proportional representation or the majority system
should be favored, as well as the number and size of constituencies.
“There was great variation in opinions and
views, particularly with regards to proportional representation or a majority
system, as well as how to divide the districts,” the head of the committee,
Deputy Parliament Speaker Farid Makari, told reporters.
He also said that he might suggest to Speaker
Nabih Berri the establishment of a subcommittee to solely study the articles in
each law covering the type of system to adopt and the size of the
constituencies.
Makari’s proposal would speed up the
committee’s work to finalize discussion and give sufficient time for the
Interior Ministry to plan ahead of the 2013 parliamentary elections.
“As for the rest of the articles, discussion
is normal given that they deal with the electoral process and the expatriate voting,”
he said.
Makari described the session as calm, saying:
“Sometimes voices are raised but that’s part of any parliamentary discussion.”
The committee is studying three main electoral
proposals; one by the Cabinet based on proportional representation with 13
medium-sized districts and another by the Free Patriotic Movement that allows
each sect to vote for their own representatives also based on proportional
representation.
The third proposal has been drafted by the
March 14 coalition and divides Lebanon into 50 small districts based on a
winner-takes-all system.
Following the end of Tuesday’s session,
Hezbollah MP Ali Fayyad said the March 14 proposal excludes the Shiite voter,
accusing it of neglecting the sectarian balance.
“The March 14 proposal is an electoral
exclusion of the Shiite voter as if they are a citizen of the tenth degree,”
Fayyad said, referring to the distribution of parliamentary seats in his
rivals' proposal.
“The 50 districts proposal does not take into
account sectarian justice,” he added.
He also said that Hezbollah has not announced
an official stance with regards to the proposal of ally FPM. The FPM’s proposal
is similar to that of the Orthodox Gathering, which Hezbollah and other
predominantly Muslim parties have deemed sectarian.
Meanwhile, Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat
reiterated his party’s opposition to a proportional representation system in
the presence of Hezbollah’s arsenal.
“No to proportional representation with the
presence of arms ... the majority system has guaranteed a minimum of balance
with the presence of arms,” Fatfat said.
He also slammed the FPM proposal as a
violation of Article 27 of the constitution which stipulates that every MP must
represent the whole of society, not one particular sect.
Speaker Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati
discussed Tuesday the debate over the electoral law in the former’s residence
in Ain el-Tineh.
Mikati said Berri was keen on adopting an
electoral law that is in line with the Taif Accord and guarantees the best
representation for sects with certain fears.
He added that he was against any proposal that
violates the Taif Accord, which stipulates that parliamentary elections should
be held in accordance with a law on the basis of five provinces, later amended
into six.
“I am personally committed to the Cabinet's
proposal that was proposed to Parliament. They might say there is error in the
distribution of constituencies but that is open for discussion,” Mikati told
reporters after his meeting.
“I think proportional
representation is the best suited for Lebanon in the short and long run,” he
said.http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Oct-02/189911-mps-remain-divided-on-best-electoral-proposal-for-lebanon.ashx#axzz2816QG51z
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