Report: 'Complicit' Efforts to Maintain 1960 Election Law Thwart Discussions
Some political parties are deliberately hampering an agreement on a new electoral law in order the keep the 1960 in effect, al-Liwaa daily reported on Friday.
“A failure to agree on a new electoral law is a sign of the complicity of the political parties to keep the law in force under the pretext of inability to agree on a new one,” unnamed sources told the daily on condition of anonymity.
The sources, that followed up closely on the “contentious” atmospheres that prevailed during the dialogue sessions in the past three days, asked for a justification to proceed with discussing the stalled presidential election issue on the dialogue table in light of the inability to reach a consensual agreement.
On Thursday, heads of parliamentary blocs concluded three days of national dialogue meetings that aimed to tackle controversial issues including the election of a president, the formation of a new government and a new voting system.
However, the outcome of the sessions did not record a breakthrough and an extra session was scheduled for September 5.
The joint parliamentary committees tasked with drafting a new electoral system have failed over several months to reach consensus on the issue.
Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement deputies demand a proportional representation system in order to ensure “fair representation.”
Al-Mustaqbal Movement insists on the hybrid electoral law that combines the winner-takes-all and the proportional representation systems.
Christian representation in Lebanon's parliament have been seeking a new electoral law to replace the 1960 voting system.
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