Suleiman Holds onto Proportionality but Leaves Door Open for District Amendment
President Michel Suleiman stressed on Thursday that he is committed to proportional representation for the parliamentary electoral law, saying that the majority of the Lebanese supported this proposal.
He hoped that parliament would address the possibility of adopting small electoral districts during the elections “in order to garner the support of as many sides as possible.”
He also hoped that parliament would complete the electoral law soon in order for it to prepare discussions on decentralized administration, “which the government will begin addressing soon.”
In addition, Suleiman did not rule out the possibility of reconsidering the mechanism of expatriate voting in the parliamentary elections.
The new electoral, based on proportional representation and 13 electoral districts, has allowed expatriates to vote within one district.
The president later held talks at Beiteddine Beiteddine with U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly on the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon and its cooperation with the army.
The daily An Nahar Thursday reported that Suleiman supports proportional representation as the best system that preserves the right of Christians and the role of minorities but leaves the door open for changes in the electoral districts of a new draft law.
His sources told An Nahar daily that Suleiman “is fully convinced of proportionality” and believes that the “national and Christian interest lies in adopting proportionality … that would contain any demographic development and preserve the right of minorities.”
The March 14 opposition alliance severely criticized the draft law, saying the cabinet had divided the districts unfairly in favor of the Hizbullah-led March 8 majority coalition.
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, a centrist, also lashed out at the cabinet for adopting the draft-law, saying it should have been discussed in the presence of a strong and sovereign state.
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