Berri Criticizes Suleiman, Miqati over Electoral Decree: No Parliamentary Session before Agreement
Speaker Nabih Berri criticized on Tuesday President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati after inking an electoral decree the day before, pointing out that he will not call for a parliamentary session if no consensus over the electoral law was reached.
Berri wondered how some officials declare that they oppose the 1960 law, which is based on yjr winner-takes-all system, then work according to it, hinting at Suleiman and Miqati.
On Monday, Suleiman and Miqati signed a decree that calls for parliamentary elections on June 9 based on the 1960 law.
“If I were Suleiman and Miqati I would've defended the cabinet's electoral proposal instead of neglecting it,” he said in comments to local newspapers.
The cabinet proposed in August an electoral draft-law based on proportional representation that divides the country to 13 districts.
The speaker slammed the 1960 law, describing it as “dead.”
“All the timeframes set by this law have no importance or value, and I am not concerned with them,” Berri pointed out.
He noted that if the rival parties fail to agree on a new electoral law then he will not call for a parliamentary session.
“I will not allow for anyone to decide what my role is,” Berri stated.
He said that he will swiftly call for a parliamentary session if the foes reach common ground over the matter.
“If I didn't swiftly call for a parliamentary session once they agree, then they should hold me accountable,” Berri added.
The rival parties are yet to agree on a draft-law after the adoption of the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal by the joint parliamentary committees, which drew a sharp debate among the opposition's factions and with rival coalitions.
The polls are likely to be postponed if the parliament gives the green light to the proposal that divides Lebanon into a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system.
But the draft-law has been rejected by al-Mustaqbal bloc, the centrist National Struggle Front of MP Walid Jumblat, and the March 14 opposition’s Christian independent MPs. It has been also criticized by President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Najib Miqati.
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