Mashnouq Says to Call for June 18 Elections 'within Two Days'
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq announced Friday that he will call for June 18 parliamentary elections “within two day” after consulting with President Michel Aoun, although the date would coincide with the holy month of Ramadan.
“After consulting with the president, I will within two days call on the electoral bodies once again to organize elections on June 18,” Mashnouq told reporters ahead of a cabinet session at the Grand Serail.
He however noted that the president might once again refuse to sign the decree.
The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the parliament has since extended its own mandate twice.
Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law fully based on proportional representation but al-Mustaqbal Movement and Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat have both rejected the proposal.
Mustaqbal argues that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's strongholds while Jumblat has warned that such an electoral system would “marginalize” the minority Druze community whose presence is concentrated in the Chouf and Aley areas.
The political parties are meanwhile discussing a so-called hybrid electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the winner-takes-all system.
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