Berri Upbeat on Ability of Rival MPs to Reach Agreement on Electoral Draft-Law
Speaker Nabih Berri was more optimistic on Wednesday on the ability of rival lawmakers in striking a deal, saying they had good intentions to reach common ground on an electoral draft-law.
“I felt that all sides represented in the parliamentary subcommittee have expressed readiness to reach consensus on a draft-law,” Berri told local newspapers after he received the minutes of the subcommittee that discussed the electoral draft-laws and the number of MPs in the first phase of consultations.
“It seems there is goodwill to reach common ground that could produce an electoral law,” he said.
In remarks to the same newspapers on Monday Berri was more pessimistic saying the subcommittee hadn't made any progress after it discussed three draft-laws – the so-called Orthodox Gathering proposal, a bill proposed by the government and a draft-law suggested by the opposition’s Lebanese Forces and Phalange Party.
But after the subcommittee's chairman MP Robert Ghanem handed the 10-page report to Berri on Tuesday, the speaker said “there is no longer any deadlock.”
“We can now say that we started the legislative process,” the speaker said on Tuesday night after he held talks with MP Ali Bazzi, who represents his Amal movement in the subcommittee meetings.
“The cornerstone for the construction process has been laid,” he added.
Although Berri did not reveal details of Tuesday's morning and afternoon meetings of the subcommittee, media reports said that the rival MPs are discussing a formula that combines the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems.
The speaker promised to follow up the meetings of the committee and hold talks with the major parties, mainly the opposition al-Mustaqbal movement which has rejected proportionality.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/68506 |