Geagea Rejects Extension, Blames Electoral Law Crisis on 'Hizbullah Obstinacy'

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea reiterated Tuesday his party's rejection of an extension of parliament's term without an agreement on a new electoral law, blaming the crisis on what he called “Hizbullah's obstinacy.”

“'Full proportional representation or extension without an agreement on a law' is an equation that we cannot accept and we will not bow to the dictates of the group that is trying to impose it on us,” Geagea said in an interview with the al-Markazia news agency.

He confirmed that the LF and its Christian ally the Free Patriotic Movement will “boycott” Thursday's legislative session which has extension on its agenda.

“All electoral efforts have been blocked by Hizbullah's obstinacy,” Geagea added, accusing Hizbullah of “putting the country in the face of a major dilemma.”

“We stand by our stance that rejects extension unless it is accompanied by an agreement on a new electoral law,” the LF leader stressed.

He also voiced surprise over the call for a parliamentary session aimed at extending the legislature's term “while some parties continue to reject all the serious formats that have been proposed by more than one party, starting from one person, one vote to the individual district to all the hybrid laws including Speaker Nabih Berri's format.”

Geagea stressed that “full proportional representation is rejected because it does not reflect correct representation like hybrid laws do,” noting that “the difficult choices will be discussed with the allies in order to take the appropriate situation.”

He also said that a visit by an LF delegation to President Michel Aoun earlier in the day was aimed at “consulting over the steps that could be taken to confront this situation.”

Ministers Ghassan Hasbani and Melhem Riachi of the LF told Aoun during the meeting that their party rejects an extension of parliament's term in the absence of an agreement on a new electoral law that ensures equal power-sharing between Christians and Muslims, state-run National News Agency reported.

“We categorically reject extension without a new electoral law,” Hasbani said after the meeting.