Al-Rahi Reiterates Calls for Adoption of New Electoral Law
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi reiterated on Tuesday from the airport that the Parliament should approve a new electoral law ahead of any technical term extension.
“The stance that was taken by the Maronite bishops council and our agreement with officials states that the parliament should approve a new electoral law ahead of approving any technical extension for the legislature's mandate,” al-Rahi told reporters ahead of leaving to Poland on a four-day pastoral visit.
He pointed out that extending the parliament's tenure without the approval of a new electoral law would be a “disgrace” after six years of discussions.
“Nothing prevents the adoption of a new electoral law,” he added.
The Maronite bishops council stressed on Monday the need for political powers to reach an agreement over a new parliamentary electoral law.
They said in a statement after their monthly meeting: “We reject the extension of parliament's mandate without an agreement over a new vote.”
The support for the extension of the legislature's term that expires on June 20 began growing after the rival parties failed to agree on a new electoral law despite the adoption of the Orthodox plan by the joint parliamentary committees.
The plan considers Lebanon a single district and allows each sect to vote for its own lawmakers under a proportional representation system.
But its criticism paved way for another proposal that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems
Despite all the efforts no agreement was reached to replace the 1960 law, which adopts the qada an electoral district and is based on the winner-takes-all system.
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