Berri Supports Any Electoral Draft Law that Has Christian Consensus
Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Tuesday that his party will not obstruct any electoral law that has Christian consensus, voicing hope that the electoral subcommittee meetings would reach common ground among the rival political parties.
“I will not oppose the Orthodox Gathering proposal if the Christians agreed on it, regardless of my opinion,” Berri said in comments published in As Safir newspaper.
On Sunday, The Christian four-party committee on the electoral law agreed to endorse the electoral system proposed by the so-called Orthodox Gathering, under which each sect would elect its own lawmakers.
The panel comprises representatives from the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Phalange Party and the Marada Movement.
The AMAL leader said that this decision will be clearly expressed by his party's parliamentary bloc MP Ali Bazzi, who will attend the subcommittee meetings.
“The committee will meet day and night until the participants agree on an electoral law, then it will be referred to the joint committees for further discussions,” Berri pointed out.
The electoral subcommittee resumed its meetings after the March 14 opposition agreed to Berri's proposal of residing in a hotel near the parliament building in downtown Beirut, as a safety precaution.
The government approved in August an electoral bill based on proportional representation and 13 districts, but it was met with the opposition's rejection, which deemed it as being tailored to the March 8 majority alliance's interests.
As Safir newspaper reported that President Michel Suleiman discussed with Berri in a phone conversation on Monday several issues including the Orthodox Gathering proposal.
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