Report: Suleiman Frustrated over Failure to Coordinate with him Electoral Proposals
President Michel Suleiman has reportedly expressed frustration at the failure of the political parties from across the political spectrum to take his opinion on the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal and the cabinet's draft-law referred to parliament.
An Nahar daily quoted Suleiman's visitors as saying that the president reproached the rival Christian parties – the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Phalange and the Marada - that backed the Orthodox proposal during a meeting they held under Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi last Sunday.
He also rebuked the supporters of the cabinet's bill for not consulting him, the visitors said.
But they told An Nahar that Suleiman's rejection of the Orthodox proposal does not stem from his admonishment but from his refusal to adopt a draft-law that is unconstitutional.
The president has said that the proposal to adopt Lebanon as a single district based on proportional representation with each sect electing its own MPs, goes against the spirit of the Taef Accord.
He told the Progressive Socialist Party's al-Anbaa on Tuesday however that despite its unconstitutionality, the Orthodox Gathering's draft-law does have a positive side which is considering Lebanon as one electoral district.
Suleiman informed Speaker Nabih Berri about his stance from the proposal during a meeting they held in Baabda on Thursday night.
The two men deliberated on the draft-laws under discussion by a parliamentary subcommittee that has been meeting since Tuesday to bridge the gap between the March 8 majority alliance and the March 14 opposition coalition over which law guarantees the best representation of all the Lebanese factions.
Other than the Orthodox proposal, the subcommittee's members are tasked with studying a March 14 draft-law that calls for dividing Lebanon into 50 districts based on a winner-takes-all system and a government bill referred to parliament which projects Lebanon as 13 districts in a proportional representation system.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://cdn.naharnet.com/stories/en/67937 |