Berri Seeks to Bridge Differences as Talks with Jumblat Focus on Division of Districts

Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat have discussed the division of districts in a hybrid electoral law to avoid a clash in parliament at a session scheduled to be held on May 15, reports said Saturday.

Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour, who is loyal to Jumblat, told As Safir daily that the meeting that was held in Ain el-Tineh “focused on ideas” linked to the hybrid proposal that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems.

He did not provide further details.

Following the talks held on Friday, Jumblat said he will issue a stance over one of the proposals “within 24 hours.”

According to al-Joumhouria, their talks focused on the division of districts in Shouf, Aley and Baabda, over which Jumblat had expressed reservations in the past.

Abu Faour reiterated that the PSP's main concern is to hold the elections on time and preserve the constitution.

His remarks came as An Nahar newspaper said that Berri is exerting strong efforts to bridge the differences between the rival parliamentary blocs ahead of the May 15 session.

The speaker has warned that the failure to reach consensus on a new vote law would force him to put the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal on the session's agenda for being the only plan that was approved by the joint parliamentary committees.

The proposal, which calls for each sect to vote for its own MPs under a proportional representation system, was approved by the committees despite the rejection of al-Mustaqbal bloc, Jumblat's National Struggle Front and the March 14 alliance's independent MPs.

The other alternative would be the 1960 law which was used in the 2009 elections. But most parties have criticized it for not ensuring a proper representation for all the Lebanese and mainly Christians.

It considers the qada an electoral district and is based on the winner-takes-all system.