Alain Aoun Suspends Participation at Electoral Subcommittee as Sharp Differences Emerge
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Disagreements loomed during the electoral subcommittee meeting on Thursday as Free Patriotic Movement MP Alain Aoun reportedly suspended his participation in the meetings.
The electoral subcommittee meeting for the third day in a row failed to bridge the gap between the March 14 and 8 alliance's over the electoral draft-law that will be adopted in the upcoming polls.
OTV reported that an argument erupted between Aoun, Phalange MP Sami Gemayel and Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan and al-Mustaqbal MP Ahmed Fatfat and MP Akram Shehayyeb from MP Walid Jumblat's centrist National Struggle Front.
However, after the first round of talks Adwan and Fatfat told reporters gathered at the parliament that no dispute occurred during the meeting.
“The different points of view over the Orthodox Gathering draft law don't mean there's a political rift,” Adwan said.
But Fatfat accused Aoun of obstructing the work of the electoral subcommittee.
Media reports said that head of the subcommittee MP Robert Ghanem, who is replacing Deputy Speaker Farid Makari who is aboard, suspended the session for a while in order all members carry out the necessary consultations.
Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) said later that a meeting behind closed doors was held between Aoun, Gemayel and Adwan.
Earlier, As Safir newspaper reported that the committee will discuss during the first round of talks on Thursday a suggestion to increase the number of lawmakers.
The subcommittee was expected to tackle al-Muustaqbal MP Nabil de Freij's suggestion to increase two parliamentary seats for Syriacs or minorities, one Sunni and another Shiite, and another proposal by Gemayel to add one Syriac MP and another Druze.
An Nahar newspaper reported that the two rounds of discussions on Wednesday witnessed sharp differences among the committee members.
As Christian lawmakers at the committee, Aoun, Gemayel and Adwan in addition to MP Ali Bazzi from AMAL and Hizbullah lawmaker Ali Fayyad agreed on the adoption of the Orthodox Gathering draft-law, while al-Mustaqbal MPs Fatfat and Serge Torsarkissian and MP Shehayyeb voiced their rejection to it.
The Christian four-party committee on the electoral law agreed recently to endorse the electoral system proposed by the so-called Orthodox Gathering, under which each sect would elect its own lawmakers.
But the proposal was criticized by President Michel Suleiman, Premier Najib Miqati, Jumblat, al-Mustaqbal Movement and several other Christian MPs and officials.
However, talks over the March 14 alliance's proposal witnessed a rift between the opposition lawmakers and the March 8 MPs, who rejected it, while Shehayeb held onto the adoption of a law that provides fair representation among the Lebanese.
The March 14 Christian MPs suggested to divide Lebanon into 50 small-sized districts based on a winner-takes-all system.
Concerning the draft-law proposed by the cabinet, March 8 lawmakers voiced support to it, while the March 14 MPs rejected it.
The government’s proposal calls for dividing Lebanon into 13 medium districts based on proportional representation.
According to An Nahar, Ghanem remained neutral.
Informed sources described the meetings to As Safir as “serious,” considering that the subcommittee members are confronting a thorny path.
The sources pointed out that if the rival MPs failed to agree on a common electoral law, Speaker Nabih Berri will be informed to take the appropriate decision.
The main focus of discussions is the number and size of districts, the type of system, and the number of MPs in parliament which currently stands at 128.
Later in the day another round of discussions took place and was shortly concluded “to give space for negotiations”, as MP Ghanem explained.
The lawmakers are set to convene on Friday morning to follow-up on pending issues.
10 January 2013, 09:26
36
each has his own agenda, thus they will never agree on a law :)
10 January 2013, 12:31
104
the filthy zionist scum is happy because he see some disagreement is he immidiately starts hallucinating about sectarian hatred, civil strife and war.
10 January 2013, 12:50
44
Good hopefully they'll find a constitutional law. And yet another law where M8 will lose like the last 2...
10 January 2013, 14:32
36
the lebanese elect parliament not the cabinet ya zakzak...man please get some eduction please.
10 January 2013, 12:53
34
instead of struggling in worthless meetings to find a BS law that would protect their interests , they d rather meet to stop sectarianism and find a law to stop it! but as they are just defending their low interests they dont give a sh.. as to improve the country as they all benefit from it by frightening people! they all pretend to want secular laws but when it comes to it they all defend their sects!
Although the Taif Agreement identified the abolition of political sectarianism as a national priority they all forgot about that!
M14 always pretend to defend this agreement but never refers to the end of sectarianism! aoun pretends to be in favor of secularism but always talk about christian rights and never offers a solution to implement it!!!!
hypocrits they are...
10 January 2013, 14:19
14
OTV reported that an argument erupted between Free Patriotic Movement’s MP Alain Aoun, MP Sami Gemayel and Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan and al-Mustaqbal MP Ahmed Fatfat and MP Akram Shehayyeb from MP Walid Jumblat's centrist National Struggle Front.
whatever comes out of this.. good to see the Christian MPs finally standing together...
10 January 2013, 20:51
01
My take on it is that like someone mentioned somewhere, this is meant to out the main christian parties in a dog fight.
And geagea and aoun are taking this as a chance to settle the score once and for all and show who is the christian leader that has the majority support.
However i would like to see it play out, since it would mean one of the two will be put in his place and will have to eat his shoe, it is quite a sectarian law. Instead of mps representing their district, which they could help socially and economically and represent in the parliament (the basic function of an mp), they will only become a group of politicians arguing in the name of sectarianism if the orthodox gathering law passes.
10 January 2013, 20:52
01
I mean think of it, what will the parliament session be like?
"Us christians want more funding for the government to help only christians!!" " no it is ours as shi3a" "no, we as druze dont have enough and should have more" etc etc
Meanwhile, christians and muslims will keep living together, actually forgetting their differences for the most part of the next 4 years until the next election comes
10 January 2013, 15:12
24
This is how Aoun senor backs off and slows down any possible agreement. His back is against the wall and tries to find a way out.
10 January 2013, 15:28
04
as much as i would like to believe it is that simple, like everything else in this country it will not pass unless it is by consensus.
10 January 2013, 15:32
41
the idea that LF and m8 might vote the same on something is making me nausiating and throwing up
10 January 2013, 19:19
02
why? so you can call them filthy zionist/wahabi scum? you do that anyways.. those words compromise 99% of your vocabulary...and you already do... people like you make me hope they do vote against.. just so you can sit on the center finger..
10 January 2013, 15:32
22
just the name of this law is sectarian lol! those who support it show just how sectarian they are!
and the worse thing is that all say for populist reasons to be for secularism ! lol!!!
the taef agreement clearly stipulates the end of sectarianism (supported by M14!) and FPM boast themselves to want secularism but NONE ever did a thing to implement it! lol! on the contrary they fight to keep it that way...
it only proves that they all run after their privileges and not the benefit of the nation!
10 January 2013, 17:29
11
but it doesn t change the nature of the law so spare us your useless replies just to try to appear smarter than others....
10 January 2013, 15:36
23
I hope LF and Kataeb keep their stance and not cave into the Saudi pressure. It's about time the Christians get their act together and work as a team, even if some are M8 and others M14.
10 January 2013, 15:44
33
"and not cave into the Saudi pressure" ??? lol!!! i guess the president is saudi now! lol...
this law is sectarian but it seems you rejoice more because christians from M8 and M14 agree on something more than the fact that this law is stupid...and you say FPM want secularism? what a hypocrisy....
10 January 2013, 18:17
22
M14 dislocated. Big lol. It's democracy, in a family a husband and wife can disagree on how to give their child the best future. Doesn't mean the couple is going thru a crisis. This orthodox law is bad because it's strictly sectarian. This isn't how you give a future to Lebanon.
10 January 2013, 18:19
20
Khalil Gibran “Pity a nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation”.
this nation is still to pity because this law only proves how sectarian lebanese still are...christians are forced to elect christians, sunnis elect sunnis and so on! this is called dictatorship coz people do not have the choice of electing someone else , only based on religion!
who are they to decide who i should vote for?
it is simply against their interest to have us elect individuals based on their qualifications and their ideas. they want to force us to chose within our community! and if people don t want to? they have no choice!
that is why this rotten system is immoral and anachronistic in the 21st century!
shame on those supporting such a sectarian law...
10 January 2013, 20:03
10
sure sure... you are the perfect example of the lebanese having the illusion of security provided by your sect or faith... the typical lebanese thinking sect before thinking lebanese! and your leaders play with you to keep you this way and they succeed it seems! LOL
and i have no leaders as you seem to think... i have just criticized M14 in another post, little lion. typical of a perfect M8er who think if you are against M8 means you are automatically M14! LOL i pity you.
and you don t even live in lebanon? lol...but you want to keep it as an apartheid country... bravo! seems living abroad didn t teach you to grow up and wish that lebanon stops being such a retarded country!!!
how can it stop with retarded thinking like yours.....
11 January 2013, 02:10
01
Kaka? You didn't score today! You never do.... Pay for her... And she'll give you what you want, remember to buy lube, we know you're dry.
