March 14 Independent Christians Discuss with Berri 1 District-Hybrid Vote Law
A delegation of March 14 independent Christian lawmakers and officials discussed with Speaker Nabih Berri on Monday a proposal to divide Lebanon into a single district based on a hybrid system, said MP Butros Harb.
The delegation led by Harb visited Berri in Ain el-Tineh to discuss with him some new ideas following the controversial adoption of the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal by the joint parliamentary committees last week.
“We discussed some new ideas and agreed on continuing discussions with him” on an electoral draft-law, Harb told reporters after what he said was a “very useful” meeting.
“We decided to discuss in details the results of the ideas that we shared, including the adoption of a single district and a hybrid draft-law that does not put the elections in danger,” he said.
The hybrid system combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation.
The delegation vowed to continue discussions with the rest of officials in hopes to reach an agreement that would lead to “electoral stability,” Harb said.
The Orthodox proposal, which divides Lebanon into a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own lawmakers under a proportional representation system, was rejected by the independents MPs along with the opposition al-Mustaqbal bloc and the centrist National Struggle Front at the last meeting of the joint committees.
But Christian parties and the members of the March 8 majority alliance went ahead with adopting it.
Berri said in remarks published on Monday that he would not call for a parliamentary session before bickering parties reach consensus on an electoral draft-law.
Among Berri's visitors Monday was Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kenaan, who said following the talks that “those who want the elections to take place should propose an acceptable draft-law.”
“We insist that everyone works seriously to reach consensus on an electoral draft-law,” said Kenaan, whose bloc, is a staunch supporter of the Orthodox proposal.
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