LF, Phalange Reject 1960 Law, Insist on Holding Polls

The Lebanese Forces and Phalange parties reiterated their rejection on Monday of adopting the 1960 electoral law that is based on winners-take-all system in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

LF bloc MP George Adwan revealed that the party is seeking to press forward the possibility of holding a parliamentary session to ensure that the 1960 law will not be adopted during the polls set to be held on June 9 and to obstruct attempts to extend the tenure of the current parliament.

“Carrying out elections will preserve stability in Lebanon,” Adwan said in comments published in An Nahar newspaper.

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 faction 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.

For his part, Phalange party MP Sami Gemayel expressed belief that some sides have no intention to hold the polls on time.

“We have to decide whether we are seeking to postpone the elections for two or three months until we agree on an electoral law, or if we want to leave the power to the de-facto forces,” Gemayel told the daily.

He warned that postponing the polls for a long period will lead the country into political vacuum as “we will have to deal with care-taking presidency, parliament and cabinet.”

Gemayel pointed out that the March 8 alliance, in particular Hizbullah, has no interest in carrying out the elections on time.

However, he noted that the March 14 coalition, along with Progressive Socialist Party leader Jumblat, might be able to propose an alternative to avoid taking the country into chaos.

On a similar note, al-Mustaqbal MP Jamal al-Jarrah confirmed to Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) that talks with the PSP, the LF and the Phalange are ongoing, hinting that Jumblat's centrist bloc will propose a draft-law in the name of the March 14 alliance.