Cabinet to Tackle on Wednesday Expatriates Voting Mechanism

Lebanese expatriates are waiting for the cabinet decision on the mechanism that would allow them to cast their ballots in the 2013 elections as the session at the Baabda Palace on Wednesday is expected to tackle the issue.

“The cabinet would have to confront the complications that will be caused by the discussions on the mechanism that would enable expats to vote,” ministerial sources told An Nahar on Tuesday.

President Michel Suleiman urged Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour on Monday to swiftly finish the appointment of vacant diplomatic posts in embassies and consulates to set the stage for voting of expatriates.

However, Mansour told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) that the diplomatic appointments doesn’t affect the participation of expats in the ballots but it can “make it easier.”

“We are ready… We are waiting for the cabinet to adopt a mechanism” concerning the voting of the Lebanese abroad, he told As Safir newspaper.

The minister noted that the foreign ministry prepared all the necessary measures and determined the estimated number of expatriate voters and costs that reach around $2 million.

“The matter is in the hands of the cabinet,” the FM said.

According to al-Liwaa newspaper, Mansour demanded the Lebanese embassies and consulates to provide the ministry with records on the numbers of the Lebanese citizens abroad.

He revealed that most expatriates seem unwilling to register in Lebanese missions to vote.

Al-Akhbar newspaper said that according to a report by Mansour the “estimated number of Lebanese willing to vote is 3,712” out of 608,286 people.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said in comments published in As Safir that the political powers in the country should find consensus among each other on the electoral law for the 2013 elections.

“Taking into consideration the dispute (over the electoral law), I can’t determine when we will be able to finish the issue,” Charbel said.

He told the daily that he is holding onto his proposal to adopt the proportional representation, however, he said: “The final decision goes back to the cabinet and parliament.”

Sources close to Speaker Nabih Berri told al-Liwaa newspaper that there is no scheduled date yet for the meeting between his advisor Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and that of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hussein Khalil, with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat.

Jumblat rejects the adoption of an electoral law based on proportional representation, which he said is aimed at limiting his political weight.

Lebanese officials are exerting efforts to formulate an electoral draft law that ensures a sound parliamentary representation of sects. However, there’s no agreement yet over the issue.