Oghassapian: Failure to Agree on Vote Law Leads to Vacuum
State Minister for Women's Affairs warned on Wednesday that failure to reach a new vote law for Lebanon's parliamentary elections would drag the country into the “unknown and vacuum.”
“After June 19, when the parliament's term ends, if we fail to agree on a new electoral law the country will fall into the unknown and in vacuum,” said Oghassapian in an interview to VDL (93.3).
“It is constitutionally impossible to return to the (current) 1960 (majoritarian) law after June 19, because the three-month deadline in only allowed if the parliament is dissolved," added the Minister.
"There is no constitutional text that allows us to return to the 1960 law," he stressed.
Ogassapian emphasized that “the parliament is now exceptionally bound to endorse the law before June 19. The government is also bound to convene to approve the bill and forward it to the parliament before June 12," he said.
When the regular session of the parliament ended on May 31, President Michel Aoun opened an extraordinary parliament session between June 7 and June 12 entirely dedicated for an electoral law.
Ogassapian also warned against any constitutional amendments "because this would lead to further modifications."
The political parties have recently agreed that the new electoral law will be based on proportional representation and 15 electoral districts but a lot of technical details and electoral rules are yet to be agreed on.
Source: Naharnet
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