Report: Suleiman, Berri Reach Understanding over Electoral Draft Law

President Michel Suleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri agreed to adopt a draft law that combines the proportional representation and winner-takes-all systems as a settlement to the sharp differences among Lebanese political foes over the matter, al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Sources close to the two officials told the newspaper that they voiced their support to a draft law proposed by the Burtos Committee in 2005 which was headed by former Foreign Minister Fouad Butros.

The sources said that the decision comes in light of the disagreement over the current proposals regarding which electoral system to adopt during the upcoming 2013 elections and the number of districts.

The Butros Committee electoral draft law suggests electing 71 parliamentary seats based on proportional representation while the remaining 57 seats would be elected based on a winner-takes-all system, where each province would be adopted as an electoral district.

The committee proposed additional electoral improvements such as the formation of an independent committee to administer elections and the use of pre-printed ballots.

According to the daily, Prime Minister Najib Miqati and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat have previously voiced their support to this proposal

The joint parliamentary committees are currently discussing a draft law to be adopted during the 2013 polls as the cabinet's draft law calls for dividing Lebanon into 13 medium-sized districts based on proportionality, while a plan suggested by Free Patriotic Movement chief Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc allows every sect to elect its own MPs under a proportional representation system with Lebanon as a single district.

The March 14-led opposition's proposal made by MPs George Adwan, Sami Gemayel and Butros Harb supports the formation of 50 small-sized districts in a winner-takes-all system.