Report: March 14, Jumblat to Resume Contacts to Discuss Small-Sized Electoral Districts

The March 14 camp and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat are expected to resume contacts in a hope to reach an agreement over a proposal to adopt small-sized electoral districts during the 2013 parliamentary elections, reported An Nahar daily on Wednesday.

Sources from the camp told the daily that even though the MP is still opposed to the small-sized districts, he is open to dialogue that could introduce amendments to the electoral draft law proposed by the opposition.

They noted that the recent agreement between former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea over the draft law may ease discussions on the matter.

The two officials had met last week in Jeddah to discuss local and regional developments, especially the parliamentary elections.

Opposition MPs George Adwan, Sami Gemayel and Butros Harb had proposed an electoral law based on 50 small-sized districts in a winner-takes-all system, while a plan suggested by MP Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc would allow every sect to elect its own MPs under a proportional representation system with Lebanon as a single district.

The sources told An Nahar that “it will be impossible for Aoun to approve small-sized districts even though he had previously agreed to them during the Bkirki committee meetings.”

The Bkirki committee, which brought together rival Christian forces, is aimed at reaching an agreement over a parliamentary electoral draft law.

Geagea and other members of the opposition had accused FPM officials of contradicting agreements reached at the committee over the electoral law.

In August, the government approved a parliamentary electoral law based on proportional representation and 13 electoral districts.