Khatib: Electoral Laws Similar to 1960 Will be Rejected

Environment Minister Tarek Al-Khatib criticized the majoritarian 1960 parliamentary electoral law stressing that the entire political parties in Lebanon do not want it to rule the upcoming polls in May.

“ The 1960 law is very bad and all political parties reject it,” he said, adding “We won't accept a last moment 60's- like electoral law.”

In an interview with Free Lebanon radio, Khatib stressed that his party aims to accomplish a law that secures fair representation.

Commenting on the controversial wage scale file, Khatib said the main hurdle facing its approval is a shortage in the state's budget as he stressed the need for “a basket of reforms” in order to be able to fund the pay scale.

Responding to a question about the Lebanese Forces nomination to Fadi Saad in Batroun for the parliamentary elections, Khatib said that the Lebanese Forces (LF) has the right to choose its candidates in various Lebanese regions, adding that this would not affect the agreement with the Free Patriotic Movement which aims at protecting the Christians' rights on the national level.