Berri Reiterates Rejection of Parliament Term Extension
Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated on Wednesday that he strictly refuses any extension of the parliament term if it was not for technical reasons, al-Joumhouria daily reported.
“We must distinguish between a technical parliament extension and a regular one. I will never accept another extension,” Berri told his visitors on Tuesday.
“I would accept a technical extension, but according to a specific mechanism, if it turns out to be the only solution,” added the Speaker.
Berri explained saying: “If a law cannot be agreed in the next few weeks, then an understanding must be reached. After which the government must take an initiative and prepare a law within a specific period of time.
Only “in this case, as a parliamentary council, I will immediately take the special measure meaning a technical extension and for a specific period of time,” he added.
Political parties are bickering over devising a new electoral law to govern Lebanon's upcoming parliamentary elections.
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 voiced reservations.
Mustaqbal has argued 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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