Al-Rahi Calls for Electoral Law that Does Not Fuel Sectarianism
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi hoped on Sunday that officials would succeed in reaching an agreement over a parliamentary electoral law that “revives real democracy” in Lebanon.
He therefore called on officials to reach an agreement over an electoral law that “does not fuel sectarianism.”
Furthermore, the patriarch stressed during his Sunday sermon that the new electoral law should also grant equality between Muslims and Christians.
“Citizens have the right to elect their representatives at parliament without the criteria being imposed on them by the people in power,” al-Rahi said.
“Each side is seeking to protect Lebanon's Christians and Muslims and therefore bolster coexistence in the country,” he noted.
The Orthodox Gathering proposal, which calls for each sect to elect its own lawmakers, has created divisions among various political factions in Lebanon.
A Christian four-party committee, comprised of the Phalange Party, FPM, Lebanese Forces, and Marada Movement, has advocated the law.
President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Najib Miqati, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, the Mustaqbal Movement, and independent MPs of the March 14 camp all rejected the proposal, saying it fuels sectarianism.
On the flow of Syrian refugees into Lebanon, al-Rahi stated: “Hosting them is a humanitarian obligation.”
“The Lebanese state should however control who enters Lebanon in order to prevent the entry of gunmen and other forces seeking to create strife,” he added.
“Lebanon should not be made to support more than it can in the refugee file,” declared the patriarch.
20 January 2013, 17:03
13
The Maronite Patriarch should be more explicit ! We were under the impression that he was in favour of the Orthodox Gathering Proposal.
20 January 2013, 17:56
21
So the one third of Lebanese who are Christian are equal to the two thirds who are Muslim: each group gets half of Parliamentary seats.
Let's do the math. One third equals one half, and two thirds equal one half. Let's add it up. Two sixths equal three sixths and four sixths equal three sixths, making two sixths equal four sixths. So there are twice as many people in Lebanon as there are people in Lebanon.
21 January 2013, 13:34
10
the filthy zionist scum trash worm never talks sense and never adds anything to this site, but he accuses other of being like him
plus insulting whole sect, i wander if naharnet editor will remove this
21 January 2013, 01:14
00
I look to the day when (a) religious men stick to religion and keep their noses out of politics and (b) saying that all LEBANESE are equal instead of "the new electoral law should grant equality between Muslims and Christians".
21 January 2013, 01:36
00
If all Lebanese are equal then the majority of Lebanese will vote Christian and the 95% of the seats in the government will be Christian and the Muslims won't agree. Because over 85% of the Lebanese population (both inside and outside Lebanon) are Christian.
21 January 2013, 14:21
00
the new is that you pretend to agree with something only because you know your friends in lebanon will lose their election in orthodox law.
what you don't know is that your friends will lose anyway
21 January 2013, 16:48
01
How about we elect representatives on the basis of their ideas and not on their sects? Isn't that what democracy really is? Anyone?
