Berri Satisfied with Parliamentary Electoral Subcommittee Discussions
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday the importance of the work of the parliamentary electoral subcommittee meetings.
He expressed his “satisfaction” with the discussions that resumed on Tuesday.
He made his remarks during his weekly meeting with lawmakers at Ain el-Tineh.
In addition, the speaker emphasized the importance of backing the work of the subcommittee in order to allow it to reach an agreement over a new parliamentary electoral draft law.
The subcommittee resumed its meetings on Tuesday with representatives from the rival March 8 and 14 camps discussing a new electoral draft law.
The latest suggestion that received the backing of top rival Christian parties -The Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces, the Phalange Party and the Marada movement - was that of the Orthodox Gathering which calls for each sect to elect its own MPs under a proportional representation system based on a nationwide district.
But the proposal was criticized by President Michel Suleiman, Premier Najib Miqati, National Struggle Front leader Walid Jumblat and several other Christian MPs and officials.
The cabinet has also referred a bill to parliament that calls for dividing Lebanon into 13 medium districts based on proportional representation.
09 January 2013, 18:26
02
This has nothing to do with dignity. This has to do about convergence of entitlement, fear, political brinkmanship, narrow political interest. Passing a law that further enforce different cLasses of Lebanese is disastrous. If you start talking today about "true voice of Christian," you will hear tomorrow about the "true electoral weight of the muslims" and demands that the number of such and such sect members of parliament reflect its demographic weight: 1975 deja vue.
09 January 2013, 18:27
01
Are the Christian political elites going to accept a formula where the "true weight and voice" of Christians reflected? Are we going to count every election cycle the number of this sect and that sect. The true christian voice is nothing but a big fraud. As muslims vote for christians, christians vote for muslims and cross confessional, ideological and political alliances are necessary. The orthodox proposal is a disaster as it not only create classes of citizens, further aggregate inequality, it further put the Lebanese further into their sectarian cocoons.
09 January 2013, 19:49
00
Rafehh you know i just wish it was the case. Unfortunately we live in a very complex and hostile environment.Our fabric is not that of the United States or Canada. I mean what you ask for is probably the ideal, however this is not going to happen in a country like Lebanon where extremism in certain religions has been intensifying. I am sorry but i do understand where Christians come from and their fear for their existence and identity. I also agree with you that we need to overcome this division and i tell you it is possible maybe in Canada but not in the middle east. I mean it would be rediculous to say that blacks can only vote for blacks and caucasians for caucasians in the United States. It sounds so backwards but it is different in Lebanon that's why you´re not there.
