Opposition Members Hold onto their Alliance Despite Electoral Differences

A meeting held between the head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, the leader of the Phalange party and a March 14 opposition lawmaker confirmed the strong alliance between them, sources said Saturday.

An Nahar daily said the meeting that brought together al-Mustaqbal's Fouad Saniora, Amin Gemayel, who heads the Phalange, and March 14 independent MP Butros Harb was held on Thursday night on the sidelines of a social event.

Phalange sources told the newspaper that the talks confirmed the alliance between the members of the opposition and stressed that differences on an electoral draft-law would not harm their ties.

Sources close to Saniora also said that contacts among the different factions of the March 14 alliance will continue and be consolidated.

The tripartite meeting came as the Lebanese Forces parliamentary bloc, which is part of the coalition, said on Friday it will remain committed to its allies, starting with al-Mustaqbal Movement, regardless of the dispute over the electoral draft-law.

It said in a statement following a meeting chaired by LF leader Samir Geagea that the bloc remains open to discussing any alternative to the Orthodox Gathering proposal that enjoys the support of the majority of the Lebanese people.

The proposal, which calls for a single district and allows each sect to vote for its MPs in a proportional representation system, has received the backing of the LF, the Phalange and their rivals from the March 8 majority alliance – the Free Patriotic Movement and the the Marada movement.

But several independent Christian MPs from the opposition, including Harb, al-Mustaqbal and the Progressive Socialist Party of MP Walid Jumblat have criticized it for widening the sectarian divide among the Lebanese.

Harb said Saturday that the members of the March 14 alliance would eventually agree on a single stance from the electoral draft-law.

He reiterated that the Orthodox proposal would shatter the Lebanese social fabric.